Numbers 23

1 And Balaam said unto Balak, “Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.”

2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.

3 And Balaam said unto Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps יהוה will come to meet me; and whatsoever He sheweth me I will tell you.” And he went to a high place.

4 And God (Elohim) met Balaam, and He said unto him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.”

5 And יהוה put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return unto Balak, and thus you shalt speak.”

6 And he returned unto him, and, behold, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moav.

7 And he took up his parable, and said, “Balak the king of Moav hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, ‘Come, curse Jacob (Yaaqov) for me, and come, defy Yisrael!’

8 How shall I curse, whom God (Elohim) hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom יהוה hath not defied?

9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him; behold, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

10 Who can count the dust of Jacob (Yaaqov), and the number of the fourth part of Yisrael? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!”

11 And Balak said unto Balaam, “What have you done unto me? I took you to curse mine enemies, and, behold, you have blessed them altogether.”

12 And he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak that which יהוה hath put in my mouth?”

13 And Balak said unto him, “Please come with me unto another place, from whence you mayest see them; you shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all; and curse them from thence for me.”

14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.

15 And he said unto Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet יהוה over there.”

16 And יהוה met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go again unto Balak, and say thus.”

17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moav with him. And Balak said unto him, “What hath יהוה spoken?”

18 And he took up his parable, and said, “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Hearken unto me, you son of Zippor!

19 God (Elohim) is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent. hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?

20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless; and He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob (Yaaqov), neither hath He seen perverseness in Yisrael. יהוה his God (Elohim) is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.

22 God (Elohim) brought them out of Egypt (Mitsrayim); He hath as it was the strength of a unicorn.

23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob (Yaaqov), neither is there any divination against Yisrael. According to this time it shall be said of Jacob (Yaaqov) and of Yisrael, ‘What hath God (Elohim) wrought!’

24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.”

25 And Balak said unto Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.”

26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, “Told not I you, saying, ‘All that יהוה speaketh, that I must do?’”

27 And Balak said unto Balaam, “Please come, I will bring you unto another place; perhaps it will please God (Elohim) that you mayest curse them for me from thence.”

28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Yeshimon.

29 And Balaam said unto Balak, “Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.”

30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.