|
Chapter 23 |
| 1 | And Balaam
said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and
seven rams. |
| 2
| And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam
offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. |
|
3 | And Balaam said unto
Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will
come to meet me: and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to
an high place. |
|
4 | And 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. |
| 5 |
And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return
unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. |
| 6 | And he returned unto him, and,
lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.
|
| 7 | And 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. |
|
8 | How shall I curse, whom God hath not
cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? |
| 9 | For 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. |
| 10 | Who
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! |
| 11 |
And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse
mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. |
| 12 | And
he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath
put in my mouth? |
|
13 | And 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. |
| 14
| And 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. |
| 15
| And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering,
while I meet the LORD yonder. |
|
16 | And the LORD met Balaam, and put a
word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. |
| 17 | And
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? |
| 18 |
And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto
me, thou son of Zippor: |
| 19 | God 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? |
| 20 | Behold,
I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse
it. |
| 21 |
He 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. |
|
22 | God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were
the strength of an unicorn. |
|
23 | Surely 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! |
| 24 |
Behold, 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. |
|
25 | And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at
all, nor bless them at all. |
|
26 | But Balaam answered and said unto
Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must
do? |
| 27 |
And 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. |
| 28 | And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of
Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. |
| 29 | And Balaam said unto Balak,
Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven
rams. |
| 30 |
And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a
ram on every altar. |
