8
"How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
9
For 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.
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!"
11
Then Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!"
12
So he answered and said, "Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?"
13
Then 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."
14
So 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
15
And he said to Balak, "Stand here by your burnt offering while I meet the Lord over there."
16
Then the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, "Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak."
17
So 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?"
18
Then he took up his oracle and said: "Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, 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
20
Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse 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
22
God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength 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!'
24
Look, 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."
25
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!"
26
So Balaam answered and said to Balak, "Did I not tell you, saying, 'All that the Lord speaks, that I must do'?"
27
Then 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."
28
So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland.
29
Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams."
30
And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.