| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” | 1Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams." |
| 2So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. | 2So Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam then offered on each altar a bull and a ram. |
| 3“Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam said to Balak. “Perhaps the LORD will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.” So Balaam went off to a barren height, | 3Balaam said to Balak, "Station yourself by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went to a deserted height. |
| 4and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.” | 4Then God met Balaam, who said to him, "I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram." |
| 5Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.” | 5Then the LORD put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you." |
| 6So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab. | 6So he returned to him, and he was still standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. |
| 7And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’ | 7Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying, "Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, 'Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.' |
| 8How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced? | 8How can I curse one whom God has not cursed, or how can I denounce one whom the LORD has not denounced? |
| 9For 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. | 9For from the top of the rocks I see them; from the hills I watch them. Indeed, a nation that lives alone, and it will not be reckoned among the nations. |
| 10Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!” | 10Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let the end of my life be like theirs." |
| 11Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!” | 11Then Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary you have only blessed them!" |
| 12But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?” | 12Balaam replied, "Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?" |
| 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—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.” | 13Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there." |
| 14So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. | 14So Balak brought Balaam to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
| 15Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.” | 15And Balaam said to Balak, "Station yourself here by your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD there. |
| 16And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.” | 16Then the LORD met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you." |
| 17So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the princes of Moab. “What did the LORD say?” Balak asked. | 17When Balaam came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, "What has the LORD spoken?" |
| 18Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor. | 18Balaam uttered his oracle, and said, "Rise up, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, son of Zippor: |
| 19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? | 19God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a human being, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? |
| 20I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it. | 20Indeed, I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. |
| 21He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them. | 21He has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The LORD their God is with them; his acclamation as king is among them. |
| 22God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox. | 22God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull. |
| 23For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’ | 23For there is no spell against Jacob, nor is there any divination against Israel. At this time it must be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'Look at what God has done!' |
| 24Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.” | 24Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness, and like a lion raises himself up; they will not lie down until they eat their prey, and drink the blood of the slain." |
| 25Now Balak said to Balaam, “Then neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!” | 25Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!" |
| 26But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?” | 26But Balaam replied to Balak, "Did I not tell you, 'All that the LORD speaks, I must do'?" |
| 27“Please come,” said Balak, “I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you curse them for me from there.” | 27Balak said to Balaam, "Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there." |
| 28And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. | 28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward the wilderness. |
| 29Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” | 29Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build seven altars here for me, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams." |
| 30So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar. | 30So Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
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