Numbers 23
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Balaam’s Oracles
23 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 2 So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone. Maybe the Lord[a] will meet with me. I will tell you whatever He reveals to me.” So he went to a barren hill.
4 God[b] met with him and Balaam said to Him, “I have arranged seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5 Then the Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.”
6 So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab.
Balaam’s First Oracle
7 Balaam proclaimed his poem:
Balak brought me from Aram;(A)
the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains:
“Come, put a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel!”(B)
8 How can I curse someone God has not cursed?
How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced?
9 I see them from the top of rocky cliffs,
and I watch them from the hills.
There is a people living alone;(C)
it does not consider itself among the nations.
10 Who has counted the dust of Jacob
or numbered the dust clouds[c] of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright;
let the end of my life be like theirs.
11 “What have you done to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!”
12 He answered, “Shouldn’t I say exactly what the Lord puts in my mouth?”(D)
Balaam’s Second Oracle
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp; you won’t see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me.” 14 So Balak took him to Lookout Field[d] on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the Lord over there.”
16 The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then He said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.”
17 So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”
18 Balaam proclaimed his poem:
Balak, get up and listen;
son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!
19 God is not a man who lies,
or a son of man who changes His mind.
Does He speak and not act,
or promise and not fulfill?(E)
20 I have indeed received a command to bless;
since He has blessed,[e] I cannot change it.
21 He considers no disaster for Jacob;
He sees no trouble for Israel.[f]
The Lord their God is with them,(F)
and there is rejoicing over the King among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;
He is like the horns of a wild ox for them.[g](G)
23 There is no magic curse against Jacob
and no divination against Israel.
It will now be said about Jacob and Israel,
“What great things God has done!”
24 A people rise up like a lioness;
They rouse themselves like a lion.(H)
They will not lie down until they devour the prey
and drink the blood of the slain.
25 Then Balak told Balaam, “Don’t curse them and don’t bless them!”
26 But Balaam answered him, “Didn’t I tell you: Whatever the Lord says, I must do?”(I)
Balaam’s Third Oracle
27 Again Balak said to Balaam, “Please come. I will take you to another place. Maybe it will be agreeable to God that you can put a curse on them for me there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.[h](J)
29 Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”(K) 30 So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Footnotes
- Numbers 23:3 DSS, LXX, Sam read Maybe God
- Numbers 23:4 DSS, Sam read The Angel of God
- Numbers 23:10 Or numbered a fourth
- Numbers 23:14 Or to the field of Zophim
- Numbers 23:20 Sam, LXX read since I will bless
- Numbers 23:21 Or not observe sin in Jacob; not see wrongdoing
- Numbers 23:22 Or Egypt; they have the horns of a wild ox
- Numbers 23:28 Or overlooks Jeshimon
Numbers 23
King James Version
23 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.
2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.
3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.
4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.
5 And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.
7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.
12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?
13 And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.
14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder.
16 And the Lord 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, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the Lord spoken?
18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
25 And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do?
27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.
28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward jeshimon.
29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
Numbers 23
Lexham English Bible
Balaam’s Oracles
23 Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me this: seven altars. And prepare for me this: seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 And Balak did just as Balaam spoke, and Balak offered Balaam a bull and a ram on the altar. 3 And Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself at your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell to you.” So he went to a barren height.
4 And God met with Balaam, and he said to him, “I have arranged seven altars, and I have offered a bull and a ram on the altar.” 5 Yahweh put a word in the mouth of Balaam and said, “Return to Balak, and you must speak thus.” 6 So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. 7 And he lifted up his oracle and said,
“From Aram Balak lead me,
from the mountains of the east the king of Moab,
‘Go for me, curse Jacob,
and go, denounce Israel.’
8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed,
and how can I denounce whom Yahweh has not denounced?
9 Because from the top of the rocks I see him,
from hilltops I watch him.
Behold, a people who dwell alone,
they do not consider themselves among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or as a number the fourth part of Israel?
Let my life die the death of an upright person,
and let my end be like his!”
11 And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have surely blessed them!” 12 He answered and said, “Should I not speak[a] what Yahweh puts in my mouth?”
13 Then Balak said, “Please walk with me to another place where you will see them, but you will only see part of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim to the top of Pisgah, and he built seven altars, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam[b] said to Balak, “Station yourself here at the burnt offering while I myself meet with Yahweh there.” 16 Then Yahweh met with Balaam, and he put a word in his mouth, and he said, “Return to Balak, and you must speak thus.” 17 He came to him, and behold, he was standing at his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?” 18 Then he uttered[c] his oracle, and said,
“Stand up, Balak, and hear;
listen to me, son of Zippor!
19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of humankind,
that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
And has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
when he has blessed, I cannot cause it to return.
21 He has no regard for evil in Jacob,
and he does not see trouble in Israel;
Yahweh his God is with him,
and a shout[d] of a king is among them.[e]
22 God, who brings them out from Egypt,
is like the strength[f] of a wild ox for them.[g]
23 Because there is no sorcery against Jacob,
and there is no divination against Israel.
Now[h] it will be said to Jacob and Israel,
what God has done!
24 Look! the people will rise like the lion;
he raises himself and will not lie down
until he eats the prey
and drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them[i] at all, nor bless them[j] at all!” 26 But Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Whatever Yahweh speaks I will do’?”
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please, come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be acceptable to[k] God, and you will curse for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which looks down on the face of the Jeshimon.[l] 29 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me these seven altars, and prepare for me these seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 Balak did just as Balaam said, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Footnotes
- Numbers 23:12 Literally “Should I not observe to speak”
- Numbers 23:15 Hebrew “He”
- Numbers 23:18 Literally “he lifted up”
- Numbers 23:21 Or “a blast”
- Numbers 23:21 Hebrew “him”
- Numbers 23:22 Or “like the horns”
- Numbers 23:22 Hebrew “him”
- Numbers 23:23 Or “At the right time”
- Numbers 23:25 Hebrew “him”
- Numbers 23:25 Hebrew “him”
- Numbers 23:27 Literally “it will be right in the eyes of”
- Numbers 23:28 Or “the wasteland”
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