| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” | 1Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." |
| 2And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. | 2So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
| 3Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. | 3Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone. Maybe the LORD will meet with me. I will tell you whatever He reveals to me." So he went to a barren hill. |
| 4And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” | 4God met with him and Balaam said to Him, "I have arranged seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar." |
| 5Then the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” | 5Then the LORD put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak and say what I tell you." |
| 6So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. | 6So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab. |
| 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!’ | 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!" |
| 8“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? | 8How can I curse someone God has not cursed? How can I denounce someone 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. | 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. |
| 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!” | 10Who has counted the dust of Jacob or numbered the dust clouds of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright; let the end of my life be like theirs." |
| 11Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!” | 11What have you done to me?" Balak asked Balaam. "I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!" |
| 12So he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?” | 12He answered, "Shouldn't I say exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?" |
| 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.” | 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 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. | 14So Balak took him to Lookout Field on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
| 15And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.” | 15Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the LORD over there." |
| 16Then the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” | 16The LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then He said, "Return to Balak and say what I tell you." |
| 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?” | 17So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, "What did the LORD say?" |
| 18Then he took up his oracle and said: “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! | 18Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak, get up and listen; son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say! |
| 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? | 19God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill? |
| 20Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. | 20I have indeed received a command to bless; since He has blessed, I cannot change it. |
| 21“He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them. | 21He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and there is rejoicing over the King among them. |
| 22God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox. | 22God brought them out of Egypt; He is like the horns of a wild ox for them. |
| 23“For there is no sorcery against Jacob, Nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’ | 23There is no magic curse against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said about Jacob and Israel," What great things God has done!" |
| 24Look, a people rises like a lioness, And lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.” | 24A people rise up like a lioness; They rouse themselves like a lion. They will not lie down until they devour the prey and drink the blood of the slain. |
| 25Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!” | 25Then Balak told Balaam, "Don't curse them and don't bless them!" |
| 26So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the LORD speaks, that I must do’?” | 26But Balaam answered him, "Didn't I tell you: Whatever the LORD says, I must do?" |
| 27Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” | 27Again Balak said to Balaam, "Please come. I will take you to another place. Maybe it will be agreeable to God that you can put a curse on them for me there." |
| 28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. | 28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. |
| 29Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” | 29Balaam told Balak, "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 every altar. | 30So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. |
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