⁵ O my people, remember ^(A)what Balak king of Moab devised,
    and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from ^(B)Shittim to Gilgal,
    that you may know ^(C)the righteous acts of the Lord.”

^28 (A)Let them curse, but you will bless!
    They arise and are put to shame, but ^(B)your servant will be glad!

⁵ How lovely are your tents, O Jacob,
    your encampments, O Israel!
⁶ Like palm groves^[a] that stretch afar,
    like gardens beside a river,
^(A)like aloes ^(B)that the Lord has planted,
    like cedar trees beside the waters.
⁷ Water shall flow from his buckets,
    and his seed shall be ^(C)in many waters;
his king shall be higher than ^(D)Agag,
    and ^(E)his kingdom shall be exalted.
⁸ God brings him out of Egypt
    and is for him like the ^(F)horns of the wild ox;
he shall ^(G)eat up the nations, his adversaries,
    and shall ^(H)break their bones in pieces
    and ^(I)pierce them through with his arrows.
⁹ He crouched, he lay down like a lion
    and ^(J)like a lioness; who will rouse him up?
^(K)Blessed are those who bless you,
    and cursed are those who curse you.”

⁸ How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
    How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
⁹ For from the top of the crags ^(A)I see him,
    from the hills I behold him;
behold, ^(B)a people dwelling alone,
    and ^(C)not counting itself among the nations!
^10 (D)Who can count the dust of Jacob
    or number the fourth part^[a] of Israel?
Let me die ^(E)the death of the upright,
    and let my end be like his!”