1 Then Balaam said to Balak,“Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”
2 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaamoffered a bull and a ram oneachaltar.
3 Then Balaam said to Balak,“Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps theLordwill cometo meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height.
4 And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered oneachaltar a bull and a ram.”
5 Then theLordput a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”
6 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.
7 And hetook up his oracle and said:
“Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram,
From the mountains of the east.
# ‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
# And come,denounce Israel!’
8 “Howshall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denouncewhomtheLordhas not denounced?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him;
# There!A people dwelling alone,
# Not reckoning itself among the nations.
10 “Whocan count the dust of Jacob,
Or number one-fourth of Israel?
# Let me diethe death of the righteous,
And let my end be like his!”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me?I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessedthembountifully!”
12 So he answered and said,“Must I not take heed to speak what theLordhas put in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Prophecy
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.”
14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah,and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram oneachaltar.
15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I meettheLordover there.”
16 Then theLordmet Balaam, andput a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”
17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has theLordspoken?”
18 Then he took up his oracle and said:
# “Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, son of Zippor!
19 “Godisnot a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
# Has Hesaid, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20 Behold, I have receivedacommandto bless;
# He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
21 “Hehas not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel.
TheLordhis Godiswith him,
# And the shout of a Kingisamong them.
22 God brings them out of Egypt;
# He hasstrength like a wild ox.
23 “Forthereisno sorcery against Jacob,
Nor any divination against Israel.
It now must be said of Jacob
# And of Israel, ‘Oh,what God has done!’
24 Look, a people riseslike a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
# It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!”
26 So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying,‘All that theLordspeaks, that I must do’?”
Balaam’s Third Prophecy
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.”
28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, thatoverlooks the wasteland.
29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”
30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram oneveryaltar.