| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” | 1Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams." |
| 2Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram. | 2So Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam then offered on each altar a bull and a ram. |
| 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, | 3Balaam said to Balak, "Station yourself by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went to a deserted height. |
| 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.” | 4Then God met Balaam, who said to him, "I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram." |
| 5And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” | 5Then the LORD put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you." |
| 6And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. | 6So he returned to him, and he was still standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. |
| 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!’ | 7Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying, "Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, 'Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.' |
| 8How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? | 8How can I curse one whom God has not cursed, or how can I denounce one whom the LORD has not denounced? |
| 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! | 9For from the top of the rocks I see them; from the hills I watch them. Indeed, a nation that lives alone, and it will not be reckoned among the nations. |
| 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!” | 10Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let the end of my life be like theirs." |
| 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.” | 11Then Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary you have only blessed them!" |
| 12And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?” | 12Balaam replied, "Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?" |
| 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.” | 13Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there." |
| 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. | 14So Balak brought Balaam to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
| 15Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD over there.” | 15And Balaam said to Balak, "Station yourself here by your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD there. |
| 16And the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” | 16Then the LORD met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you." |
| 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?” | 17When Balaam came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, "What has the LORD spoken?" |
| 18And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor: | 18Balaam uttered his oracle, and said, "Rise up, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, son of Zippor: |
| 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? | 19God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a human being, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? |
| 20Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. | 20Indeed, I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. |
| 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. | 21He has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The LORD their God is with them; his acclamation as king is among them. |
| 22God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. | 22God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull. |
| 23For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought!’ | 23For there is no spell against Jacob, nor is there any divination against Israel. At this time it must be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'Look at what God has done!' |
| 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.” | 24Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness, and like a lion raises himself up; they will not lie down until they eat their prey, and drink the blood of the slain." |
| 25And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” | 25Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!" |
| 26But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the LORD says, that I must do’?” | 26But Balaam replied to Balak, "Did I not tell you, 'All that the LORD speaks, I must do'?" |
| 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.” | 27Balak said to Balaam, "Come, please; I will 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 desert. | 28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wilderness. |
| 29And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” | 29Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build seven altars here for me, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams." |
| 30And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. | 30So Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
|
