ASV - Numbers Chapters 23 to 24

23 Numbers 23

¹And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. ²And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. ³And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go: peradventure Jehovah will come to meet me; and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare height. ⁴And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. ⁵And Jehovah put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. ⁶And he returned unto him, and, lo, he was standing by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. ⁷And he took up his parable, and said, From Aram hath Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel. ⁸How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied? ⁹For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations. ¹⁰Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my last end be like his! 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. ¹²And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah putteth 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. ¹⁴And he took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. ¹⁵And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I meet Jehovah yonder. ¹⁶And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak. ¹⁷And he came to him, and, lo, he was standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath Jehovah spoken? ¹⁸And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; Hearken unto me, thou 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 will he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good? ²⁰Behold, I have received commandment to bless: And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. ²¹He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob; Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: Jehovah his God is with him, And the shout of a king is among them. ²²God bringeth them forth out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox. ²³Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel: Now shalt it be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! ²⁴Behold, the people riseth up as a lioness, And as a lion doth he lift himself up: He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, And drink the blood of the slain. ²⁵And Balak said unto 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 Jehovah speaketh, that I must do?

²⁷And Balak said unto Balaam, Come now, I will take thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence. ²⁸And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon the desert. ²⁹And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. ³⁰And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.

24 Numbers 24

¹And when Balaam saw that it pleased Jehovah to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. ²And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. ³And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, And the man whose eye was closed saith; ⁴He saith, who heareth the words of God, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open: ⁵How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel! ⁶As valleys are they spread forth, As gardens by the river-side, As lign-aloes which Jehovah hath planted, As cedar-trees beside the waters. ⁷Water shall flow from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. ⁸God bringeth him forth out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox: He shall eat up the nations his adversaries, And shall break their bones in pieces, And smite them through with his arrows. ⁹He couched, he lay down as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesseth thee, And cursed be every one that curseth thee.

¹⁰And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. ¹¹Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honor; but, lo, Jehovah hath kept thee back from honor. ¹²And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers that thou sentest unto me, saying, ¹³If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Jehovah, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; what Jehovah speaketh, that will I speak? ¹⁴And now, behold, I go unto my people: come, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days. ¹⁵And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, And the man whose eye was closed saith; ¹⁶He saith, who heareth the words of God, And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open: ¹⁷I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite through the corners of Moab, And break down all the sons of tumult. ¹⁸And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession, who were his enemies; While Israel doeth valiantly. ¹⁹And out of Jacob shall one have dominion, And shall destroy the remnant from the city. ²⁰And he looked on Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; But his latter end shall come to destruction. ²¹And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, And thy nest is set in the rock. ²²Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, Until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. ²³And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this? ²⁴But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, And they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber; And he also shall come to destruction. ²⁵And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.