New King James Version

English Standard Version

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

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

2And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

2Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram.

3Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height.

3And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height,

4And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”

4and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”

5Then the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”

5And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”

6So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.

6And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering.

7And he took 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!’

7And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’

8“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

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

9For 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.

9For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations!

10“Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!”

10Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!”

11Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”

11And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.”

12So he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?”

12And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

13Then 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.”

13And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.”

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

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

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

15Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD over there.”

16Then the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”

16And the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.”

17So 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 the LORD spoken?”

17And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”

18Then he took up his oracle and said: “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor!

18And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor:

19“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

19God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

20Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

20Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.

21“He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them.

21He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them.

22God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox.

22God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

23“For there is no sorcery against Jacob, Nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’

23For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought!’

24Look, a people rises like 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.”

24Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.”

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

25And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.”

26So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the LORD speaks, that I must do’?”

26But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the LORD says, that I must do’?”

27Then 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.”

27And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.”

28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland.

28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert.

29Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

29And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

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

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

The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.