Numbers 23:1-12 ▼

1 Then Balaam (not of the people) said to Balak (devastator), “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

2 So Balak (devastator) did as Balaam (not of the people) had instructed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

3 “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam (not of the people) said to Balak (devastator). “Perhaps the LORD {YHWH} will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.” So Balaam went off to a barren height,

4 and God {Elohim} met with him (not of the people). “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

5 Then the LORD {YHWH} put a message in Balaam’s (not of the people) mouth, saying, “Return to Balak (devastator) and give him this message.”

6 So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab (of his father).

7 And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak (devastator) brought me from Aram (exalted), the king of Moab (of his father) from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob (he grasps the heel) for me; come and denounce Israel (he wrestles with God)!’

8 How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD {YHWH} has not denounced?

9 For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations.

10 Who can count the dust of Jacob (he grasps the heel) or number even a fourth of Israel (he wrestles with God)? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!”

11 Then Balak (devastator) said to Balaam (not of the people), “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!”

12 But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD {YHWH} puts in my mouth?”