Numbers 23
New King James Version
The Prophecies of Balaam
23 Then Balaam said to Balak, (A)“Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”
2 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam (B)offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, (C)“Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come (D)to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. 4 (E)And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
5 Then the Lord (F)put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.
7 And he (G)took up his [a]oracle and said:
“Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram,
From the mountains of the east.
(H)‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
And come, (I)denounce Israel!’
8 “How(J) shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him;
There! (K)A people dwelling alone,
(L)Not reckoning itself among the nations.
10 “Who(M) can count the [b]dust of Jacob,
Or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die (N)the death of the righteous,
And let my end be like his!”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? (O)I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”
12 So he answered and said, (P)“Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Prophecy
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” 14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, (Q)and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I [c]meet the Lord over there.”
16 Then the Lord met Balaam, and (R)put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
18 Then he took up his oracle and said:
(S)“Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, son of Zippor!
19 “God(T) is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He (U)said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
(V)He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
21 “He(W) has not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen [d]wickedness in Israel.
The Lord his God is with him,
(X)And the shout of a King is among them.
22 (Y)God brings them out of Egypt;
He has (Z)strength like a wild ox.
23 “For there is no [e]sorcery against Jacob,
Nor any [f]divination against Israel.
It now must be said of Jacob
And of Israel, ‘Oh, (AA)what God has done!’
24 Look, a people rises (AB)like a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
(AC)It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!”
26 So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, (AD)‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do’?”
Balaam’s Third Prophecy
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that (AE)overlooks the [g]wasteland. 29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.
Footnotes
- Numbers 23:7 prophetic discourse
- Numbers 23:10 Or dust cloud
- Numbers 23:15 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; Syr. call; LXX go and ask God
- Numbers 23:21 trouble
- Numbers 23:23 enchantment
- Numbers 23:23 fortune-telling
- Numbers 23:28 Heb. Jeshimon
Bamidbar 23
Orthodox Jewish Bible
23 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here shivah mizbechot, and prepare for me here shivah bulls and shivah rams.
2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on each mizbe’ach a bull and a ram.
3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy olah, and I will go; perhaps Hashem will come to meet me; and whatsoever He showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a barren height.
4 And Elohim met Balaam, and he said unto Him, I have prepared shivah hamizbechot, and I have offered upon each mizbe’ach a bull and a ram.
5 And Hashem put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
6 And he returned unto him, and, hinei, he stood by his olah, he, and all the sarim of Moav.
7 And he took up his mashal, and said, Balak Melech Moav hath brought me from Aram (Syria), out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse for me Ya’akov, and come, denounce Yisroel.
8 How shall I curse, whom El hath not cursed? Or how shall I denounce, whom Hashem hath not denounced?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the heights I behold him; see, the people shall live apart, and shall not be reckoned among the Goyim.
10 Who can count the dust of Ya’akov, and the number of the fourth part of Yisroel? Let my nefesh die the death of the yesharim (righteous ones), and let my latter end be like his!
11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I brought thee to curse mine enemies, and, hinei, thou hast altogether put a brocha on them.
12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Hashem hath put in my mouth?
13 And Balak said unto him, Come with me unto another place, from where thou mayest see them; thou shalt see part but not all of them, and curse them for me from there.
14 And he brought him into the sadeh of Tzophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built shivah mizbechot, and offered a bull and a ram on each mizbe’ach.
15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy olah, while I meet Hashem over there.
16 And Hashem met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
17 And when he came to him, hinei, he stood by his olah, and the sarim of Moav with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath Hashem spoken?
18 And he took up his mashal, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; pay heed unto me, thou son of Tzippor.
19 El is not an ish, that He should lie; neither a ben adam, that He should change His mind; hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not carry it out?
20 Hinei, I have received commandment to make brocha; and He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
21 He hath not beheld avon in Ya’akov, neither hath He seen amal (trouble) in Yisroel. Hashem Elohav is with him, and the [jubilant] shout of a melech is about him.
22 El brought them out of Mitzrayim; He is for them like the strength of a wild ox.
23 Surely there is no nachash (augury) in Ya’akov; neither is there any kesem (divination) in Yisroel; at the time it is spoken to Ya’akov and to Yisroel what El doeth!
24 See, the people shall rise up as a lioness, and lift up himself as an ari; he shall not lie down until he devours the prey, and drinks the dahm of the slain.
25 And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor at all make a brocha on them.
26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Did I not tell thee, saying, All that Hashem speaketh, that I must do?
27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come now, I will bring thee unto another place; perhaps it will please HaElohim that thou mayest curse them for me from there.
28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that overlooks Yeshimon.
29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here shivah mizbechot, and prepare here shivah bulls and shivah rams for me.
30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each mizbe’ach.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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