Numbers 23

Balaam Prepares to Speak

1 Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for sacrifice.”

2 Balak did what Balaam said, and they sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.

3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offerings while I go see if the Lord speaks to me. Whatever He tells me, I will come back and tell you.” Then Balaam went up to a high place.

4 God met Balaam, and Balaam said, “I prepared seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each one.”

5 The Lord gave Balaam a message and told him, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”

6 So Balaam went back and found Balak standing by his offerings with all the Moabite officials.

7 Balaam spoke this message: “Balak, king of Moab, brought me here from Aram, saying, ‘Come curse Jacob for me! Come bring down Israel!’”

8 “But how can I curse those whom God has not cursed, How can I condemn those whom the Lord has not condemned?”

9 “I see them from the top of the rocks, I look at them from the hills. They are a people who live set apart, who do not count themselves among the nations.”

10 “Who can count Jacob’s descendants, They are as many as the dust of the earth. Let me die like the righteous, let my end be like theirs!”

Balak Gets Mad at Balaam

11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done, I brought you here to curse my enemies, but instead, you blessed them!”

12 Balaam answered, “I can only say what the Lord puts in my mouth.”

Balak Tries Again from Another Spot

13 Then Balak said, “Come with me to another place. Maybe from there, you can curse them for me.”

14 So Balak took Balaam to the lookout at Pisgah, where they could see part of the Israelite camp. There, they built seven altars and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one.

15 Balaam told Balak, “Stay here by your offerings while I go see what the Lord says.”

16 The Lord met Balaam and gave him a message, saying, “Go back to Balak and deliver this word.”

17 So Balaam went back to Balak, who was standing by his offerings with the Moabite officials. Balak asked, “What did the Lord say?”

Balaam’s Second Prophecy

18 Then Balaam spoke this message: “Listen up, Balak! Hear me out, son of Zippor!”

19 “God is not like people. He does not lie. He is not human, going back on His word. If He says it, He will do it. If He makes a promise, He will keep it!”

20 “I received a command to bless, and He has blessed, so I cannot take it back!”

21 “He sees no sin in Jacob, no wrongdoing in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; they shout His name like a king is among them!”

22 “God brought them out of Egypt; He is as strong as a wild ox for them!”

23 “There is no magic spell or curse that works against Jacob. It will be said of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’”

24 “These people rise up like a lioness, they lift themselves up like a lion. They will not rest until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain!"

Balak Is Even Madder

25 Balak said to Balaam, “If you will not curse them, at least do not bless them!”

26 But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you, I can only say what the Lord tells me!”

Balak Tries One More Time

27 Balak said, “Come on, let me take you to another place. Maybe God will let you curse them from there.”

28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, overlooking the wasteland.

29 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”

30 Balak did just as Balaam said, and they sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.