| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. | 1Balaam said, "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. | 2Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them 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. | 3Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went off to a barren height. |
| 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, "I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram." |
| 5And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. | 5The LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this word." |
| 6And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab. | 6So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials. |
| 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. | 7Then Balaam spoke his message: "Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. 'Come,' he said, 'curse 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 those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom 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. | 9From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of 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 can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my final end 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. | 11Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!" |
| 12And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth? | 12He answered, "Must I not speak 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, "Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp. And from there, curse 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 he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he 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 beside your offering while I meet with him 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 word in his mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this word." |
| 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 went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the Moabite officials. 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: | 18Then he spoke his message: "Arise, Balak, and listen; hear me, son of Zippor. |
| 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 human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? |
| 20Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. | 20I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and 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. | 21"No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The LORD their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them. |
| 22God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. | 22God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. |
| 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 divination against Jacob, no evil omens against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'See what 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. | 24The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till it devours its prey and drinks the blood of its victims." |
| 25And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. | 25Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!" |
| 26But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do? | 26Balaam answered, "Did I not tell you I must do whatever the LORD says?" |
| 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. | 27Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there." |
| 28And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. | 28And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland. |
| 29And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. | 29Balaam said, "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. | 30Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
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