Numbers 23
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1Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."1Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."
2So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar.2Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
3Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone. Maybe the LORD will meet with me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me." So he went to a barren hill.3Then 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.
4God met with him and Balaam said to him, "I have arranged seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar."4God met with him, and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram."
5Then the LORD put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak and say what I tell you."5The LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this word."
6So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab.6So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials.
7Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak brought me from Aram; the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains: "Come, put a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel!"7Then 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.'
8How can I curse someone God has not cursed? How can I denounce someone the LORD has not denounced?8How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?
9I see them from the top of rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. There is a people living alone; it does not consider itself among the nations.9From 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.
10Who has counted the dust of Jacob or numbered even one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright; let the end of my life be like theirs.10Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my final end be like theirs!"
11"What have you done to me?" Balak asked Balaam. "I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!"11Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!"
12He answered, "Shouldn't I say exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?"12He answered, "Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?"
13Then Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp; you won't see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me."13Then 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."
14So Balak took him to Lookout Field on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.14So 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.
15Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the LORD over there."15Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there."
16The LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then he said, "Return to Balak and say what I tell you."16The LORD met with Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this word."
17So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, "What did the LORD say?"17So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the Moabite officials. Balak asked him, "What did the LORD say?"
18Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak, get up and listen; son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!18Then he spoke his message: "Arise, Balak, and listen; hear me, son of Zippor.
19God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?19God is not 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?
20I have indeed received a command to bless; since he has blessed, I cannot change it.20I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
21He considers no disaster for Jacob; he sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and there is rejoicing over the King among them.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.
22God brought them out of Egypt; he is like the horns of a wild ox for them.22God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox.
23There 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!"23There 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!'
24A people rise up like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion. They will not lie down until they devour the prey and drink the blood of the slain.24The 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."
25Then Balak told Balaam, "Don't curse them and don't bless them!"25Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"
26But Balaam answered him, "Didn't I tell you: Whatever the LORD says, I must do?"26Balaam answered, "Did I not tell you I must do whatever the LORD says?"
27Again Balak said to Balaam, "Please come. I will take you to another place. Maybe it will be agreeable to God that you can put a curse on them for me there."27Then 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."
28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.28And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland.
29Balaam told Balak, "Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."29Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."
30So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.30Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.New International Version (NIV)

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Numbers 22
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