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18 Then he uttered[a] his oracle, and said,

“Stand up, Balak, and hear;
    listen to me, son of Zippor!
19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
    nor a son of humankind,
that he should change his mind.
    Has he said, and will he not do it?
And has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
20     Behold, I have received a command to bless;
when he has blessed, I cannot cause it to return.
21     He has no regard for evil in Jacob,
and he does not see trouble in Israel;
    Yahweh his God is with him,
and a shout[b] of a king is among them.[c]
22     God, who brings them out from Egypt,
is like the strength[d] of a wild ox for them.[e]
23     Because there is no sorcery against Jacob,
and there is no divination against Israel.
    Now[f] it will be said to Jacob and Israel,
    what God has done!
24 Look! the people will rise like the lion;
    he raises himself and will not lie down
until he eats the prey
    and drinks the blood of the slain.”

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 23:18 Literally “he lifted up”
  2. Numbers 23:21 Or “a blast”
  3. Numbers 23:21 Hebrew “him”
  4. Numbers 23:22 Or “like the horns”
  5. Numbers 23:22 Hebrew “him”
  6. Numbers 23:23 Or “At the right time”

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