| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” | 1Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." |
| 2Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram. | 2Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
| 3And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, | 3Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went off to a barren height. |
| 4and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” | 4God met with him, and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram." |
| 5And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” | 5The LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this word." |
| 6And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. | 6So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials. |
| 7And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’ | 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 whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? | 8How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those 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! | 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 the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!” | 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!" |
| 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.” | 11Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but 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?” | 12He answered, "Must I not 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.” | 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." |
| 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. | 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. |
| 15Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD over there.” | 15Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there." |
| 16And the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” | 16The LORD met with Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this word." |
| 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?” | 17So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the Moabite officials. Balak asked him, "What did the LORD say?" |
| 18And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor: | 18Then he spoke his message: "Arise, Balak, and listen; hear me, son of Zippor. |
| 19God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? | 19God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? |
| 20Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. | 20I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it. |
| 21He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. | 21"No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The LORD their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them. |
| 22God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. | 22God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. |
| 23For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought!’ | 23There is no divination against Jacob, no evil omens against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'See what God has done!' |
| 24Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.” | 24The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till it devours its prey and drinks the blood of its victims." |
| 25And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” | 25Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!" |
| 26But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the LORD says, that I must do’?” | 26Balaam answered, "Did I not tell you I must do whatever the LORD says?" |
| 27And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” | 27Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there." |
| 28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert. | 28And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland. |
| 29And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” | 29Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." |
| 30And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. | 30Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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