Numbers 23
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 23
Balaam’s First Oracle.[a] 1 Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven oxen and seven rams for me.” 2 Balak did what Balaam had told him to do. Then Balak and Balaam offered a young bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your offerings, and I will go off a bit. Perhaps the Lord will come to visit me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.” He then went off to a high place.
4 God visited Balaam. He said, “I have prepared seven altars and I have offered a young bull and a ram upon each altar.” 5 The Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and proclaim this.”
6 So he returned to him and found him standing by his sacrifice, he and the leaders of Moab. 7 Then he proclaimed his oracle:
“Balak has brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains saying,
‘Come, and curse Jacob,
come and denounce Israel!’
8 How shall I curse those whom God has not cursed,
how shall I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?[b]
9 From the top of the rocks I see him,
from the hills I behold him.
Behold, a people dwelling alone,
not counted among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
let my end be like his.”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have bountifully blessed them.” 12 But he answered, “Must I not proclaim what the Lord has put into my mouth?”
13 Balaam’s Second Oracle. Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place. There you will be able to see them, but only their outposts; you will not see all of them. You can curse them for me from there.”
14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars, and he offered a young bull and a ram on each altar. 15 He said to Balak, “Stand here by your offering, and I will meet the Lord over there.” 16 The Lord visited Balaam and put a word in his mouth saying, “Go back again to Balak and proclaim this.”
17 He returned to him. He was standing by his offering, he and the leaders of Moab with him. Balak said to him, “What has the Lord said?” 18 He took up his oracle and said,
“Arise, Balak, and hear;
listen to me, son of Zippor!
19 God is not human, that he should lie,[c]
or the son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act,
does he promise and then not fulfill it?
20 Behold, I have received a blessing;
he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
21 No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no misery is seen in Israel.
The Lord, their God, is with them;
the shout of a king is among them.
22 God has brought them out of Egypt;
they are as strong as a wild ox.
23 There is truly no sorcery against Jacob,
nor any divination against Israel.
Now it will be said of Jacob and Israel,
‘What God has done!’
24 Behold, a people rises up like a lioness,
like a young lion it lifts itself up.
It will not lie down again until it eats the prey
and drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Then do not either curse them in any way or bless them in any way!” 26 But Balaam answered Balak saying, “Did I not tell you: ‘All that the Lord says I must do!’ ”
27 Balaam’s Third Oracle. Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place. Perhaps God will allow you to curse them for me here.” 28 Then Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor, to a place that faced Jeshimon. 29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for me.” 30 Balak did what Balaam had told him to do, and he offered a young bull and a ram on each of the altars.
Footnotes
- Numbers 23:1 The story of Balaam is told here chiefly in order to bring in the oracles of blessing. What is reported here is certainly very ancient traditions, comparable to the blessings of Jacob (Gen 49) and of Moses (Deut 33).
- Numbers 23:8 Balaam cannot do what Balak asks of him because God is protecting his people. None of Balaam’s tricks can negate God’s blessing on them.
- Numbers 23:19 God is not human, that he should lie: Balaam’s lack of integrity and honesty are far removed from the steadfast mercy and goodness of God.
4 Mosebok 23
Swedish New Living Bible (Nya Levande Bibeln)
23 Bileam sa: Bygg sju altaren åt mig och gör i ordning sju unga tjurar och sju bockar till offer.
2 Balak gjorde som Bileam sa, och tillsammans offrade de en ung tjur och en bock på varje altare.
3-4 Sedan sa Bileam till kungen: Stå här vid dina brännoffer, så ska jag gå åt sidan och se om Herren vill visa sig för mig. Vad han än avslöjar för mig ska du få veta.Bileam gick upp på en kal höjd, och Gud visade sig där för honom. Jag har gjort i ordning sju altaren, och jag har låtit offra en ung tjur och en bock på varje altare, sa Bileam till Herren.
5 Då gav Herren Bileam ett budskap till kung Balak.
6 När Bileam kom tillbaka stod kungen bredvid brännoffren tillsammans med alla furstarna i Moab och väntade på honom,
7-10 och Bileam framförde följande budskap:Balak har fört mig hit från Arams land,kungen i Moab på bergen i öster.'Kom' sa han till mig, 'förbanna Jakob åt mig!Låt din vrede uppväckas mot Israel'.Men hur skulle jag kunna förbanna vad Gud inte har förbannat? Hur kan jag fördöma ett folk som Gud inte har fördömt? Jag ser dem från bergets topp,jag iakttar dem från höjderna.De bor avskilt och vill inte jämföra sig med andra.De är som sandkorn!Det går inte att räkna ens en del av dem.Om jag bara kunde få dö rättfärdig som en av dem!Ja, låt mig få sluta som de!
11 Vad är det du har gjort mot mig? frågade kung Balak. Jag bad dig förbanna mina fiender, och nu har du välsignat dem!
12 Men Bileam svarade: Hur skulle jag kunna säga något annat än det som Herren har befallt mig?
Bileam välsignar Israel för andra gången
13 Följ med mig till en annan plats, sa Balak till honom. Där kommer du att se en annan del av Israels folk. Du kan väl åtminstone förbanna dem du ser därifrån!
14 Balak tog Bileam med sig till Väktarplanen, på toppen av Pisga. Där byggde han sju altaren, och på vart och ett av dem offrade han en ung tjur och en bock.
15 Sedan sa Bileam till kungen: Stå här vid dina brännoffer medan jag går för att möta Herren.
16 Och Herren visade sig för Bileam och talade om för honom vad han skulle säga.
17 Bileam återvände till Moabs kung och furstar, som stod bredvid brännoffren.Vad har Herren sagt? frågade kungen ivrigt.
18-24 Bileam svarade:Res dig, Balak, och lyssna:Du Sippors son, inte är väl Gud en människa,så att han skulle kunna ljuga? Han ändrar sig inte som människor gör.Har han någon gång talat utan att hålla sitt löfte? Hör här: Jag har fått befallning att välsigna!Gud har välsignat dem, och jag kan inte ändra det!Han har inte sett någon synd i Jakob, han vill inte plåga Israel!Herren, deras Gud, är med dem.Han är deras kung!Gud har lett dem ut ur Egypten.Israel äger styrka som en vildoxe.Ingen förbannelse kan komma över Jakob,och ingen trolldom ska drabba Israel.För nu ska det sägas om Israel:'Se, vilka under Gud har gjort med dem!'De reser sig upp som en lejoninna.De vilar inte förrän de har ätit upp sitt byteoch druckit de slagnas blod!
25 Om du inte tänker förbanna dem, kan du väl åtminstone låta bli att välsigna dem! utbrast kungen.
26 Men Bileam svarade: Sa jag inte till dig att jag måste säga det som Herren befaller?
Bileam välsignar Israel för tredje gången
27 Då sa kungen till Bileam: Jag ska ta dig med till en annan plats. Kanske låter Gud dig förbanna dem därifrån.
28 Han tog Bileam med sig till berget Peor, med utsikt över öknen,
29 och än en gång bad Bileam kungen att bygga sju altaren och att göra i ordning sju unga tjurar och sju bockar till offer.
30 Kungen gjorde som Bileam sa och offrade en ung tjur och en bock på varje altare.
Numbers 23
King James Version
23 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen 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 the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.
4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.
5 And the Lord 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 stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.
7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let 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 the Lord hath put 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 brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder.
16 And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the Lord 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 shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall 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 perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: 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 the Lord speaketh, that I must do?
27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.
28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward jeshimon.
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 a bullock and a ram on every altar.
Copyright © 1974, 1977, 1987, 1995, 2003, 2004 by Biblica