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Numbers 23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Numbers 23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 23
1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and here prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 2 So Balak did as Balaam had ordered, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I go over there. Perhaps the Lord will meet me, and then I will tell you whatever he lets me see.” And so he went out on the barren height. 4 Then God met Balaam, and Balak said to him: “I have erected the seven altars, and have offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5 The Lord put an utterance in Balaam’s mouth, and said: Go back to Balak, and speak accordingly. 6 So he went back to Balak, who was still standing by his burnt offering together with all the princes of Moab. 7 Then Balaam recited his poem:
From Aram[a] Balak has led me here,
Moab’s king, from the mountains of Qedem:(A)
“Come, curse for me Jacob,
come, denounce Israel.”
8 How can I lay a curse on the one whom God has not cursed?
How denounce the one whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the crags I see him,
from the heights I behold him.
Here is a people that lives apart[b]
and does not reckon itself among the nations.
10 Who has ever counted the dust of Jacob,
who numbered Israel’s dust-cloud?[c]
May I die the death of the just,
may my end be like theirs!
11 “What have you done to me?” cried Balak to Balaam. “It was to lay a curse on my foes that I brought you here; but instead, you have blessed them!” 12 Balaam replied, “Is it not what the Lord puts in my mouth that I take care to repeat?”
The Second Oracle. 13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place[d] from which you can see them; but you will see only some, not all of them, and from there lay a curse on them for me.” 14 So he brought him to a lookout post on the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each of them. 15 Balaam then said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I seek a meeting over there.” 16 Then the Lord met Balaam, and, having put an utterance in his mouth, said to him: Return to Balak, and speak accordingly. 17 So he went to Balak, who was still standing by his burnt offering together with the princes of Moab. When Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?” 18 Balaam recited his poem:
Rise, Balak, and listen;
give ear to my testimony, son of Zippor!
19 God is not a human being who speaks falsely,
nor a mortal, who feels regret.
Is God one to speak and not act,
to decree and not bring it to pass?
20 I was summoned to bless;
I will bless; I cannot revoke it!
21 Misfortune I do not see in Jacob,
nor do I see misery[e] in Israel.
The Lord, their God, is with them;
among them is the war-cry of their King.
22 They have the like of a wild ox’s horns:[f]
God who brought them out of Egypt.(B)
23 No, there is no augury against Jacob,
nor divination against Israel.
Now it is said of Jacob,
of Israel, “Look what God has done!”
24 Here is a people that rises up like a lioness,
and gets up like a lion;
It does not rest till it has devoured its prey
and has drunk the blood of the slain.(C)
25 “Neither lay a curse on them nor bless them,” said Balak to Balaam. 26 But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘Everything the Lord tells me I must do’?”
The Third Oracle. 27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me bring you to another place; perhaps God will approve of your laying a curse on them for me from there.” 28 So he took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks Jeshimon. 29 Balaam then said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here; and here prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had ordered, offering a bull and a ram on each altar.
Footnotes
- 23:7 Aram: the ancient name of the region later known as Syria. The mountains of Qedem: Qedem is the name for a region in northern Syria. Qedem also means “eastern.” Perhaps this designates the low ranges in the Syrian desert. The “mountains of old” is also a possible translation.
- 23:9 A people that lives apart: that is, “securely”; cf. Dt 33:28.
- 23:10 The dust of Jacob…Israel’s dust-cloud: the Israelites will be as numerous as the dust kicked up by Israel in its march through the wilderness.
- 23:13 To another place: Balak thought that if Balaam would view Israel from a different site, he could deliver a different kind of omen.
- 23:21 Misfortune…misery: Balaam states that he is unable to see any evils for Israel.
- 23:22 A wild ox’s horns: Israel possesses the strength of a wild ox because of God’s presence among them. Compare the claim by the psalmist, the Lord is “my rock…my saving horn” (Ps 18:3).
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
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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