18 Balaam proclaimed his poem:

Balak, get up and listen;
son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!
19 God is not a man, that he might lie,
or a son of man, that he might change his mind.(A)
Does he speak and not act,
or promise and not fulfill?(B)
20 I have indeed received a command to bless;
since he has blessed,[a] I cannot change it.
21 He considers no disaster for Jacob;
he sees no trouble for Israel.[b]
The Lord their God is with them,(C)
and there is rejoicing over the King among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;
he is like the horns of a wild ox for them.[c](D)
23 There is no magic curse against Jacob
and no divination against Israel.
It will now be said about Jacob and Israel,
“What great things God has done!”
24 A people rise up like a lioness;
they rouse themselves like a lion.(E)
They will not lie down until they devour the prey
and drink the blood of the slain.

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Footnotes

  1. 23:20 Sam, LXX read since I will bless
  2. 23:21 Or He does not observe sin in Jacob; he does not see wrongdoing in Israel
  3. 23:22 Or Egypt; they have the horns of a wild ox

18 Then Balaam raised his voice and made his address:

“Arise, Balak, and listen;
    hear me out, Zippor’s son.
19 God isn’t a man that he would lie,
    or a human being that he would change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and not done it,
    or promised and not fulfilled it?
20 I received a blessing, and he blessed.
    I can’t take it back.
21 He hasn’t envisioned misfortune for Jacob,
    nor has he seen trouble for Israel.
The Lord his God is with him,
    proclaimed as his king.
22 God, who brought them out of Egypt,
    is like a magnificent wild bull for him.
23 There is no omen against Jacob,
    no divination against Israel.
Instantly it is told to Jacob,
    and to Israel, what God performs.
24 A people now rises like a lioness,
    like a lion it stands up.
It doesn’t lie down until it eats the prey
    and drinks the blood of the slain.”

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