⁵ Don’t you remember, my people,
    how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed
    and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead?
And remember your journey from Acacia Grove^[a] to Gilgal,
    when I, the Lord, did everything I could
    to teach you about my faithfulness.”

²⁸ Then let them curse me if they like,
    but you will bless me!
When they attack me, they will be disgraced!
    But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!

⁵ How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob;
    how lovely are your homes, O Israel!
⁶ They spread before me like palm groves,^[a]
    like gardens by the riverside.
They are like tall trees planted by the Lord,
    like cedars beside the waters.
⁷ Water will flow from their buckets;
    their offspring have all they need.
Their king will be greater than Agag;
    their kingdom will be exalted.
⁸ God brought them out of Egypt;
    for them he is as strong as a wild ox.
He devours all the nations that oppose him,
    breaking their bones in pieces,
    shooting them with arrows.
⁹ Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down;
    like a lioness, who dares to arouse her?
Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel,
    and cursed is everyone who curses you.”

⁸ But how can I curse those
    whom God has not cursed?
How can I condemn those
    whom the Lord has not condemned?
⁹ I see them from the cliff tops;
    I watch them from the hills.
I see a people who live by themselves,
    set apart from other nations.
¹⁰ Who can count Jacob’s descendants, as numerous as dust?
    Who can count even a fourth of Israel’s people?
Let me die like the righteous;
    let my life end like theirs.”

“Rise up, Balak, and listen!
    Hear me, son of Zippor.