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18 Then Balaam[a] uttered his oracle, saying,

“Rise, Balak, and hear;
    listen to me, O son of Zippor:
19 God is not a human being, that he should lie,
    or a mortal, that he should change his mind.
Has he promised, and will he not do it?
    Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?(A)
20 See, I received a command to bless;
    he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.(B)
21 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
    nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
    acclaimed as a king among them.(C)
22 God, who brings them out of Egypt,
    is like the horns of a wild ox for them.(D)
23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob,
    no divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
    ‘See what God has done!’
24 Look, a people rising up like a lioness
    and rousing itself like a lion!
It does not lie down until it has eaten the prey
    and drunk the blood of the slain.”(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 23.18 Heb he

18 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

“Rise, Balak, and hear;
    give ear to me, O son of Zippor:
19 (A)God is not man, that he should lie,
    or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
    Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
20 Behold, I received a command to bless:
    (B)he has blessed, and (C)I cannot revoke it.
21 (D)He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
    nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
    and the shout of a king is among them.
22 (E)God brings them out of Egypt
    and is for them like (F)the horns of the wild ox.
23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob,
    no (G)divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
    (H)‘What has God wrought!’
24 Behold, a people! (I)As a lioness it rises up
    and as a lion it lifts itself;
(J)it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey
    and drunk the blood of the slain.”

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