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18 This was the message Balaam delivered:

“Rise up, Balak, and listen!
    Hear me, son of Zippor.
19 God is not a man, so he does not lie.
    He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
    Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
20 Listen, I received a command to bless;
    God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!
21 No misfortune is in his plan for Jacob;
    no trouble is in store for Israel.
For the Lord their God is with them;
    he has been proclaimed their king.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;
    for them he is as strong as a wild ox.
23 No curse can touch Jacob;
    no magic has any power against Israel.
For now it will be said of Jacob,
    ‘What wonders God has done for Israel!’
24 These people rise up like a lioness,
    like a majestic lion rousing itself.
They refuse to rest
    until they have feasted on prey,
    drinking the blood of the slaughtered!”

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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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