Numbers 23

Balaam’s First Oracle

1 And Balaam said to Balak, *ver. 29"Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams." 2 Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam *ver. 14, 30offered on each altar a bull and a ram. 3 And Balaam said to Balak, *ver. 15"Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come *[ch. 24:1]to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you." And he went to a bare height, 4 *ver. 16and 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." 5 And the Lord*ver. 12, 16;ch. 22:38;Deut. 18:18;Isa. 51:16;59:21;Jer. 1:9put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak." 6 And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. 7 And Balaam *ver. 18;ch. 24:3,15,20,21,23;Job 27:1;29:1;Ps. 49:4;78:2;Isa. 14:4;Mic. 2:4;[ch. 21:27] took up his discourse and said,

"From *[ch. 22:5] Aram Balak has brought me,

the king of Moab *[Gen. 29:1] from the eastern mountains:

‘Come, *ch. 22:6curse Jacob for me,

and come, denounce Israel!’

8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed?

How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?

9 For from the top of the crags *[ch. 24:17] I see him,

from the hills I behold him;

behold, *Deut. 32:28a people dwelling alone,

and *Ex. 33:16;[Ezra 9:2;Esth. 3:8;Eph. 2:14]not counting itself among the nations!

10 *See Gen. 13:16Who can count the dust of Jacob

or number the fourth part*23:10 Or dust clouds of Israel?

Let me die *Ps. 37:37;116:15;Rev. 14:13the death of the upright,

and let my end be like his!"

11 And Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? *ch. 22:11;24:10;Deut. 23:5;Neh. 13:2I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them." 12 And he answered and said, *See ver. 5"Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?"

Balaam’s Second Oracle

13 And 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." 14 And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, *ver. 1, 2and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam said to Balak, *ver. 3"Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there." 16 And the Lord met Balaam and *ver. 5, 12put a word in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak." 17 And 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?" 18 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

"Rise, Balak, and hear;

give ear to me, O son of Zippor:

19 *1 Sam. 15:29;Mal. 3:6;Rom. 11:29;Titus 1:2;Heb. 6:18;James 1:17God 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?

20 Behold, I received a command to bless:

*ch. 22:12;Gen. 12:2;22:17he has blessed, and *ch. 22:18I cannot revoke it.

21 *[Jer. 50:20]He 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.

22 *ch. 24:8God brings them out of Egypt

and is for them like *Deut. 33:17;Job 39:9-12;Ps. 22:21;92:10the horns of the wild ox.

23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob,

no *ch. 22:7divination against Israel;

now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,

*Ps. 44:1‘What has God wrought!’

24 Behold, a people! *Gen. 49:9As a lioness it rises up

and as a lion it lifts itself;

*Gen. 49:27it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey

and drunk the blood of the slain."

25 And Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all." 26 But Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell you, *See ch. 22:18‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?" 27 And Balak said to Balaam, *ver. 13"Come now, 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 *ch. 25:18;31:16;Josh. 22:17;Ps. 106:28,29;Hos. 9:10;[ch. 25:3, 5] Peor, which overlooks *See ch. 21:20the desert.*23:28 Or Jeshimon29 And Balaam said to Balak, *ver. 1"Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams." 30 *ver. 2And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.