11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies,(A) but you have done nothing but bless them!”(B)

12 He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”(C)

Balaam’s Second Message

13 Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place(D) where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp.(E) And from there, curse them for me.(F) 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah,(G) and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(H)

15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there.”

16 The Lord met with Balaam and put a word in his mouth(I) and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”

17 So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the Moabite officials.(J) Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

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11 And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have surely blessed them!” 12 He answered and said, “Should I not speak[a] what Yahweh puts in my mouth?”

13 Then Balak said, “Please walk with me to another place where you will see them, but you will only see part of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim to the top of Pisgah, and he built seven altars, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam[b] said to Balak, “Station yourself here at the burnt offering while I myself meet with Yahweh there.” 16 Then Yahweh met with Balaam, and he put a word in his mouth, and he said, “Return to Balak, and you must speak thus.” 17 He came to him, and behold, he was standing at his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?”

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 23:12 Literally “Should I not observe to speak”
  2. Numbers 23:15 Hebrew “He”