International Standard Version

English Standard Version

1Balaam told Balak, "Build for me here seven altars and prepare here for me 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.”

2So Balak did just as Balaam instructed. 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 instructed Balak, "Stand by your offering and leave me alone by myself. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me. I'll tell you whatever he reveals to me." And so he went to a high place,

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,

4where the LORD met with Balaam, who told him, "I've prepared seven altars and offered bulls and rams on an altar."

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 gave Balaam this message. "Return to Balak and speak to him."

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

6So Balaam returned to where Balak had been standing, that is, next to his offerings, accompanied by all the Moabite officials.

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

7Then Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: "King Balak of Moab brought me from Aram, from the eastern mountains, and told me, 'Come and curse Jacob for me. Come and curse 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!’

8But how can I curse those whom God hasn't cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD hasn't denounced?

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

9I saw them from the top of the rocks. I watched them from the hills. Truly this is a people that lives by itself and doesn't matter 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!

10Who can count the dust of Jacob? Who can number the dust of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may I end up like him."

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!”

11"What are you doing to me?" Balak asked Balaam. "I brought you to curse my enemies, not pronounce a blessing!"

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.”

12But in response, Balaam asked, "Shouldn't I be careful to communicate only what the LORD puts in my mouth?"

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

13"Come with me to another place where you can see them," Balak replied. "You'll only see a portion of them, because you won't be able to see them completely. Come and curse them from there for me."

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 Balak took him to the field of Zophim, and from there to the top of Mount Pisgah, where he built seven altars and then 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.

15Then he told Balak, "Stand by your offering while I go alone to meet the LORD."

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

16Then the LORD met with Balaam and gave a message to him. "Now go back to Balak and speak to him."

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

17So Balaam returned to where Balak had been standing, that is, next to his offerings, accompanied by the Moabite officials. "What did the LORD say?" Balak asked him.

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?”

18In response, Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: "Stand up, Balak, and pay attention! Listen to me, you son of Zippor!

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

19God is not a human male— he doesn't lie, nor is he a human being— he never vacillates. Once he speaks up, he's going to act, isn't he? Once he makes a promise, he'll fulfill it, won't he?

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?

20Look! I've received a blessing, and so I will bless. I won't withdraw it.

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

21He has not responded to iniquity in Jacob or gazed at mischief in Israel. The LORD his God is with them, and the triumphant cry 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.

22From Egypt God brought them— his strength was like a wild ox!

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

23No Satanic plan against Jacob nor divination against Israel can ever prevail. When the time is right, it is to be asked about Jacob and Israel, 'What has God accomplished?'

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! The people are like lions. Like the lion, he rises up! He does not lie down again until he has consumed his prey and drunk 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 told Balaam, "Don't curse them or bless them!"

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

26"Didn't I tell you," Balaam responded to Balak, "that I'll say whatever the LORD tells me to say?"

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

27So Balak exhorted Balaam, "Let's go right now! I'll take you to another place. Maybe God will agree to have you 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 Mount Peor, which overlooks the open wilderness.

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

29Balaam told Balak, "Build seven altars for me right here. Then prepare 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.”

30Balak did just what Balaam had instructed—he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

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

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.

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.