Numbers 23 NKJV ISV Parallel

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◄ Numbers 23 ►

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1Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

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

2And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

2So Balak did just as Balaam instructed. Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

3Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height.

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,

4And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”

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

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

5Then the LORD gave Balaam this message. "Return to Balak and speak to him."

6So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.

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

7And he took up his oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’

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.'

8“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

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

9For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, Not reckoning itself among the nations.

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.

10“Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!”

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."

11Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”

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

12So he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?”

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

13Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.”

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."

14So he brought 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 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.

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

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

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

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

17So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”

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.

18Then he took up his oracle and said: “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor!

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

19“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

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?

20Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

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

21“He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them.

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.

22God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox.

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

23“For there is no sorcery against Jacob, Nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’

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?'

24Look, a people rises like a lioness, And lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.”

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."

25Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!”

25Then Balak told Balaam, "Don't curse them or bless them!"

26So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the LORD speaks, that I must do’?”

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

27Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.”

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."

28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland.

28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, which overlooks the open wilderness.

29Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

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

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

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

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