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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 Balaam proclaimed his poem:

Balak, get up and listen;
son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!
19 God is not a man who lies,
or a son of man who changes His mind.
Does He speak and not act,
or promise and not fulfill?(A)
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,(B)
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](C)
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.(D)
They will not lie down until they devour the prey
and drink the blood of the slain.

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Footnotes

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