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Numbers 23
Modern English Version
Numbers 23
Modern English Version
23 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars, and prepare for me seven oxen and seven rams.” 2 Balak did as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bull and a ram.
3 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.” And he went to a high place.
4 God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on every altar a bull and a ram.”
5 The Lord put a word in the mouth of Balaam and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you will speak.”
6 So he returned to Balak, who was standing by his burnt offering with all the princes of Moab. 7 Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying:
“Balak has brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the mountains of the east,
saying, ‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
and come, defy Israel!’
8 How will I curse
whom God has not cursed?
Or how will I defy
whom the Lord has not defied?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
and from the hills I behold him;
there, the people will dwell alone
and will not be counted among the nations.
10 Who 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!”
11 And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but now you have certainly blessed them.”
12 He answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Prophecy
13 And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them. You will see part of them, but will not see them all. Curse them for me from there.” 14 He brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 He said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offerings while I meet the Lord over there.”
16 The Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Go again to Balak, and thus you will speak.”
17 When he came to him, he was standing by his burnt offerings with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
18 And he took up his parable and said:
“Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, you son of Zippor!
19 God is not a man, that He should lie,
nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He spoken, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20 See, I have received a commandment to bless,
and He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
21 “He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob,
nor has He seen perverseness in Israel.
The Lord his God is with him,
and the shout of a king is among them.
22 God, who brings them out of Egypt,
has strength like a wild ox.
23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob,
nor is there any divination against Israel.
For this time it will be said of Jacob and of Israel,
‘See what God has done!’
24 A people rises up as a great lion,
and lifts itself up like a lion;
it shall not lie down until it eats the prey
and drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, nor bless them at all.”
26 But Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the Lord speaks, I must do’?”
Balaam’s Third Prophecy
27 And Balak said to Balaam, “Please come. I will bring you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” 28 Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor, which looks toward Jeshimon.
29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Numbers 23
New International Version
Numbers 23
New International Version
Balaam’s First Message
23 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams(A) for me.” 2 Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(B)
3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me.(C) Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren height.
4 God met with him,(D) and Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”
5 The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth(E) and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”(F)
6 So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials.(G) 7 Then Balaam(H) spoke his message:(I)
“Balak brought me from Aram,(J)
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.(K)
‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’(L)
8 How can I curse
those whom God has not cursed?(M)
How can I denounce
those whom the Lord has not denounced?(N)
9 From the rocky peaks I see them,
from the heights I view them.(O)
I see a people who live apart
and do not consider themselves one of the nations.(P)
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob(Q)
or number even a fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,(R)
and may my final end be like theirs!(S)”
11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies,(T) but you have done nothing but bless them!”(U)
12 He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”(V)
Balaam’s Second Message
13 Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place(W) where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp.(X) And from there, curse them for me.(Y)” 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah,(Z) and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(AA)
15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there.”
16 The Lord met with Balaam and put a word in his mouth(AB) and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”
17 So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the Moabite officials.(AC) Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”
18 Then he spoke his message:(AD)
“Arise, Balak, and listen;
hear me, son of Zippor.(AE)
19 God is not human,(AF) that he should lie,(AG)
not a human being, that he should change his mind.(AH)
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise(AI) and not fulfill?
20 I have received a command to bless;(AJ)
he has blessed,(AK) and I cannot change it.(AL)
21 “No misfortune is seen in Jacob,(AM)
no misery observed[a] in Israel.(AN)
The Lord their God is with them;(AO)
the shout of the King(AP) is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;(AQ)
they have the strength of a wild ox.(AR)
23 There is no divination against[b] Jacob,
no evil omens(AS) against[c] Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’
24 The people rise like a lioness;(AT)
they rouse themselves like a lion(AU)
that does not rest till it devours its prey
and drinks the blood(AV) of its victims.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”
26 Balaam answered, “Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?”(AW)
Balaam’s Third Message
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me take you to another place.(AX) Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me(AY) from there.” 28 And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor,(AZ) overlooking the wasteland.
29 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 30 Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(BA)
Footnotes
- Numbers 23:21 Or He has not looked on Jacob’s offenses / or on the wrongs found
- Numbers 23:23 Or in
- Numbers 23:23 Or in
Modern English Version (MEV)
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.