Numbers 23
Revised Standard Version
23 1 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and provide for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram. 3 And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me; and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height. 4 And God met Balaam; and Balaam said to him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered upon each altar a bull and a ram.” 5 And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 And he returned to him, and lo, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. 7 And Balaam took up his discourse, and said,
“From Aram Balak has brought me,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:
‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
and come, denounce Israel!’
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 mountains I see him,
from the hills I behold him;
lo, a people dwelling alone,
and not reckoning itself among the nations!
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or number the fourth part[a] of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
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 behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” 12 And he answered, “Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Oracle
13 And Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place, from which you may see them; you shall see only the nearest of them, and shall not see them all; then curse them for me from there.” 14 And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder.” 16 And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” 17 And he came to him, and lo, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” 18 And Balaam took up his discourse, and said,
“Rise, Balak, and hear;
hearken to me, O son of Zippor:
19 God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should repent.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?
20 Behold, I received a command to bless:
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
21 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob;
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
and the shout of a king is among them.
22 God brings them out of Egypt;
they have as it were the horns of the wild ox.
23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob,
no divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
‘What has God wrought!’
24 Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up
and as a lion it lifts itself;
it does not lie down till it devours the prey,
and drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 And Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.” 26 But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” 27 And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, 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 Pe′or, that overlooks the desert.[b] 29 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and provide for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Footnotes
- Numbers 23:10 Or dust clouds
- Numbers 23:28 Or Jeshimon
Numbers 23
American Standard Version
23 1 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks 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 Jehovah will come to meet me; and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare height. 4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. 5 And Jehovah 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 was standing by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. 7 And he took up his parable, and said,
From Aram hath Balak brought me,
The king of Moab from the mountains of the East:
Come, curse me Jacob,
And come, [a]defy Israel.
8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?
And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him:
Lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone,
And shall not be reckoned among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
[b]Or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let [c]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 Jehovah putteth 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 took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. 15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I meet Jehovah yonder. 16 And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak. 17 And he came to him, and, lo, he was standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath Jehovah 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 will he not do it?
Or hath he spoken, and will 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 [d]perverseness in Israel:
Jehovah his God is with him,
And the shout of a king is among them.
22 God bringeth them forth out of Egypt;
He hath as it were the [e]strength of the [f]wild-ox.
23 Surely there is no enchantment [g]with Jacob;
Neither is there any divination [h]with Israel:
[i]Now shall it be [j]said of Jacob and of Israel,
What hath God wrought!
24 Behold, the people riseth up as a lioness,
And as a lion doth he lift himself up:
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 Jehovah speaketh, that I must do? 27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come now, I will take thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence. 28 And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon [k]the desert. 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 up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
Footnotes
- Numbers 23:7 Hebrew be wroth against.
- Numbers 23:10 Hebrew Or, by number, the etc.
- Numbers 23:10 Hebrew my soul.
- Numbers 23:21 Or, trouble
- Numbers 23:22 Or, horns
- Numbers 23:22 Or, ox-antelope. Hebrew reem.
- Numbers 23:23 Or, against
- Numbers 23:23 Or, against
- Numbers 23:23 Or, At the due season
- Numbers 23:23 Or, told to . . . what God hath wrought
- Numbers 23:28 Or, Jeshimon
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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