Balaam’s Second Message

¹³ Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place^(A) where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp.^(B) And from there, curse them for me.^(C)”

⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.^{(A) 10} Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

²⁸ The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god^(A) of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know^(B) that I am the Lord.’”

²³ Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, “Their gods are gods^(A) of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they.

⁹ When Balak son of Zippor,^(A) the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor^(B) to put a curse on you.^(C)

⁴¹ The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal,^(A) and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.^(B)