Numbers 23:7-20
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 23
7And he took up his discourse and said, 'From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the East, saying, ‘Come, declare Jacob cursed for me, And come, curse Israel!’ 8How am I to put a curse on him upon whom God has not put a curse? And how am I to curse him whom the Lord has not cursed? 9For I see him from the top of the rocks, And I look at him from the hills; Behold, a people that lives in isolation, And does not consider itself to be among the nations.
11Then Balak said to Balaam, 'What have you done to me? I took you to put a curse on my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed them!'
12He replied, 'Must I not be careful to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?'
13Then Balak said to him, 'Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, although you will only see the extreme end of them and will not see all of them; and put a curse on them for me from there.'
14So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15Then he said to Balak, 'Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet the Lord over there.'
16Then the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth, and said, 'Return to Balak, and this is what you shall speak.'
17So he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, 'What has the Lord spoken?'
18Then he took up his discourse and said, 'Arise, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, son of Zippor!
19God is not a man, that He would lie, Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20Behold, I have received a command to bless; When He has blessed, I cannot revoke it.
King James Version
10Who 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!
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 the Lord hath put 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 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.
15And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder.
16And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
17And 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?
18And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 23
7Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak brought me from Aram; the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains: "Come, put a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel!" 8How can I curse someone God has not cursed? How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced? 9I see them from the top of rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. There is a people living alone; it does not consider itself among the nations. 10Who has counted the dust of Jacob or numbered even one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright; let the end of my life be like theirs.
13Then Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp; you won’t see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me."
14So Balak took him to Lookout Field on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
18Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak, get up and listen; son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!
19God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?
20I have indeed received a command to bless; since he has blessed, I cannot change it.
New Living Translation
Chapter 23
7This was the message Balaam delivered: 'Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel’s doom.’ 8But how can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I condemn those whom the Lord has not condemned? 9I see them from the cliff tops; I watch them from the hills. I see a people who live by themselves, set apart from other nations. 10Who can count Jacob’s descendants, as numerous as dust? Who can count even a fourth of Israel’s people? Let me die like the righteous; let my life end like theirs.'
13Then King Balak told him, 'Come with me to another place. There you will see another part of the nation of Israel, but not all of them. Curse at least that many!'
14So Balak took Balaam to the plateau of Zophim on Pisgah Peak. He built seven altars there and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.
18This was the message Balaam delivered: 'Rise up, Balak, and listen! Hear me, son of Zippor.
19God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
20Listen, I received a command to bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!
English Standard Version
8How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
9For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations!
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!"
11And Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them."
12And he answered and said, "Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?"
13And Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there."
14And he took 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.
15Balaam said to Balak, "Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there."
16And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak."
17And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, "What has the Lord spoken?"
18And Balaam took up his discourse and said, "Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor:
New International Version
Chapter 23
7Then Balaam spoke his message: "Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’ 8How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced? 9From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations. 10Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my final end be like theirs!"
13Then Balak said to him, "Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp. And from there, curse them for me."
14So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
New King James Version
Chapter 23
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!’ 8“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not 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. 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!”
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.”
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.
16Then the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”
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?”
18Then 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?
20Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
