Numbers 23
World English Bible
23 Balaam said to Balak, “Build here seven altars for me, and prepare here seven bulls and seven rams for me.”
2 Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bull and a ram. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.”
He went to a bare height. 4 God met Balaam, and he said to him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.”
5 Yahweh put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”
6 He returned to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. 7 He took up his parable, and said,
“From Aram has Balak brought me,
the king of Moab from the mountains of the East.
Come, curse Jacob for me.
Come, defy Israel.
8 How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
How shall I defy whom Yahweh has not defied?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him.
From the hills I see him.
Behold, it is a people that dwells alone,
and shall not be listed among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or count the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous!
Let my last end be like his!”
11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them altogether.”
12 He answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak that which Yahweh puts in my mouth?”
13 Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, where you may see them. You shall see just part of them, and shall not see them all. Curse them from there for me.”
14 He took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar. 15 He said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet God over there.”
16 Yahweh met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and say this.”
17 He came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?”
18 He took up his parable, and said,
“Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, you son of Zippor.
19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should repent.
Has he said, and he won’t do it?
Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good?
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless.
He has blessed, and I can’t reverse it.
21 He has not seen iniquity in Jacob.
Neither has he seen perverseness in Israel.
Yahweh his God is with him.
The shout of a king is among them.
22 God brings them out of Egypt.
He has as it were the strength of the wild ox.
23 Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob;
Neither is there any divination with Israel.
Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel,
‘What has God done!’
24 Behold, a people rises up as a lioness.
As a lion he lifts himself up.
He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey,
and drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.”
26 But Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I tell you, saying, ‘All that Yahweh speaks, that I must do?’”
27 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 Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks down on the desert. 29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”
30 Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.
Numbers 23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
23 1
4 Then God met Balaam, and Balaam[b] said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and have offered a bull and a ram on each altar.”(D) 5 The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you must say.”(E) 6 So he returned to Balak,[c] who was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab. 7 Then Balaam[d] uttered his oracle, saying,
“Balak has brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:
‘Come, curse Jacob for me.
Come, denounce Israel!’(F)
8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?(G)
9 For from the top of the crags I see him;
from the hills I behold him.
Here is a people living alone
and not reckoning itself among the nations!(H)
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob
or number the dust cloud[e] of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let my end be like his!”(I)
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but now you have done nothing but bless them.”(J) 12 He answered, “Must I not take care to say what the Lord puts into my mouth?”(K)
Balaam’s Second Oracle
13 So Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only part of them and shall not see them all; then curse them for me from there.” 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(L) 15 Balaam[f] said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offerings, while I meet the Lord over there.” 16 The Lord met Balaam, put a word into his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall say.”(M) 17 When he came to him, he was standing beside his burnt offerings with the officials of Moab. Balak said to him, “What has the Lord said?” 18 Then Balaam[g] uttered his oracle, saying,
“Rise, Balak, and hear;
listen to me, O son of Zippor:
19 God is not a human being, that he should lie,
or a mortal, that he should change his mind.
Has he promised, and will he not do it?
Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?(N)
20 See, I received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.(O)
21 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
acclaimed as a king among them.(P)
22 God, who brings them out of Egypt,
is like the horns of a wild ox for them.(Q)
23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob,
no divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
‘See what God has done!’
24 Look, a people rising up like a lioness
and rousing itself like a lion!
It does not lie down until it has eaten the prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.”(R)
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” 26 But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Whatever the Lord says, that is what I must do’?”(S)
27 So 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.”(T) 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.[h] 29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”(U) 30 So Balak did as Balaam had said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.