| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. | 1Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." |
| 2And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. | 2So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
| 3And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place. | 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. |
| 4And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram. | 4God met with him and Balaam said to Him, "I have arranged seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar." |
| 5And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. | 5Then the LORD put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak and say what I tell you." |
| 6And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab. | 6So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab. |
| 7And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. | 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!" |
| 8How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? | 8How can I curse someone God has not cursed? How can I denounce someone the LORD has not denounced? |
| 9For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. | 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. |
| 10Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his! | 10Who has counted the dust of Jacob or numbered the dust clouds of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright; let the end of my life be like theirs." |
| 11And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. | 11What have you done to me?" Balak asked Balaam. "I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!" |
| 12And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth? | 12He answered, "Shouldn't I say exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?" |
| 13And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence. | 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." |
| 14And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. | 14So Balak took him to Lookout Field on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
| 15And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder. | 15Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the LORD over there." |
| 16And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. | 16The LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then He said, "Return to Balak and say what I tell you." |
| 17And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken? | 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?" |
| 18And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: | 18Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak, get up and listen; son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say! |
| 19God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? | 19God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill? |
| 20Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. | 20I have indeed received a command to bless; since He has blessed, I cannot change it. |
| 21He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. | 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. |
| 22God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. | 22God brought them out of Egypt; He is like the horns of a wild ox for them. |
| 23Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! | 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!" |
| 24Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. | 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. |
| 25And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. | 25Then Balak told Balaam, "Don't curse them and don't bless them!" |
| 26But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do? | 26But Balaam answered him, "Didn't I tell you: Whatever the LORD says, I must do?" |
| 27And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence. | 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." |
| 28And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. | 28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. |
| 29And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. | 29Balaam told Balak, "Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." |
| 30And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. | 30So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
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