Numbers 23

1 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”

2 Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren height.

4 God met with him, and Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

5 The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”
6 So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials.

7 Then Balaam spoke his message:
“Balak brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.
‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’

8 How can I curse
those whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce
those whom the Lord has not denounced?

9 From the rocky peaks I see them,
from the heights I view them.
I see a people who live apart
and do not consider themselves one of the nations.

10 Who can count the dust of Jacob
or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
and may my final end be like theirs!”

11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!”

12 He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
13 Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp. And from there, curse them for me.”

14 So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there.”

16 The Lord met with Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”

17 So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the Moabite officials. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

18 Then he spoke his message:
“Arise, Balak, and listen;
hear me, son of Zippor.

19 God is not a human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?

20 I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot change it.

21 “No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no misery observed in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
the shout of the King is among them.

22 God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.

23 There is no divination against Jacob,
no evil omens against Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’

24 The people rise like a lioness;
they rouse themselves like a lion
that does not rest till it devours its prey
and drinks the blood of its victims.”

25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”

26 Balaam answered, “Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?”
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there.”

28 And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland.
29 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”

30 Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

NUMBERS 23

Balaam's First Message

1 Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here, then bring seven bulls and seven rams.”
2 After Balak had done this, they sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.

3 Then Balaam said, “Wait here beside your offerings, and I'll go somewhere to be alone. Maybe the [Lord] will appear to me. If he does, I will tell you everything he says.” And he left.

4 When God appeared to him, Balaam said, “I have built seven altars and have sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one.”
5 The [Lord] gave Balaam a message, then sent him back to tell Balak.

6 When Balaam returned, he found Balak and his officials standing beside the offerings.

7 Balaam said:
“King Balak of Moab brought me
from the hills of Syria
to curse Israel
and announce its doom.

8 But I can't go against God!
He did not curse
or condemn Israel.
*

9 “From the mountain peaks,
I look down and see Israel,
the obedient people of God.

10 They are living alone in peace.
And though they are many,
they don't bother
the other nations.
“I hope to obey God
for as long as I live
and to die in such peace.”

11 Balak said, “What are you doing? I asked you to come and place a curse on my enemies. But you have blessed them instead!”

12 Balaam answered, “I can say only what the [Lord] tells me.”

Balaam's Second Message

14 So he took Balaam to a field on top of Mount Pisgah where lookouts were stationed.t Then he built seven altars there and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one.

15 “Wait here beside your offerings,” Balaam said. “The [Lord] will appear to me over there.”
16 The [Lord] appeared to Balaam and gave him another message, then he told him to go and tell Balak.

17 Balaam went back and saw him and his officials standing beside the offerings.
Balak asked, “What did the [Lord] say?”

18 Balaam answered:
“Pay close attention
to my words—

19 God is no mere human!
He doesn't tell lies
or change his mind.
God always keeps his promises.

20 “My command from God
was to bless these people,
and there's nothing I can do
to change what he has done.

21 Israel's king is the [Lord] God.
He lives there with them
and intends them no harm.

22 With the strength of a wild ox,
God led Israel out of Egypt.

23 No magic charms can work
against them—
just look what God has done
for his people.

24 They are like angry lions
ready to attack;
and they won't rest
until their victim
is gobbled up.”

25 Balak shouted, “If you're not going to curse Israel, then at least don't bless them.”

26 “I've already told you,” Balaam answered. “I will say only what the [Lord] tells me.”

Balaam's Third Message

28 So he took Balaam to Mount Peor overlooking the desert north of the Dead Sea.

29 Balaam said, “Build seven altars here, then bring me seven bulls and seven rams.”
30 After Balak had done what Balaam asked, he sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.