⁷ Balaam took up his [figurative] speech and said: Balak, the king of Moab, has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse Jacob for me; and come, violently denounce Israel.

⁸ How can I curse those God has not cursed? Or how can I [violently] denounce those the Lord has not denounced?

⁹ For from the top of the rocks I see Israel, and from the hills I behold him. Behold, the people [of Israel] shall ^[a]dwell alone and shall not be reckoned and esteemed among the nations.

¹⁰ Who can count the dust (the descendants) of Jacob and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God], and let my last end be like theirs!^(A)

¹¹ And Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, and here you have [thoroughly] blessed them instead!

¹² And Balaam answered, Must I not be obedient and speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?

¹³ Balak said to him, Come with me, I implore you, to another place from which you can see them, though you will see only the nearest and not all of them; and curse them for me from there.

¹⁴ So he took Balaam into the field of Zophim to the top of [Mount] Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁵ Balaam said to Balak, Stand here by your burnt offering while I go to meet the Lord yonder.

¹⁶ And the Lord met Balaam and put a speech in his mouth, and said, Go again to Balak and speak thus.

¹⁷ And when he returned to Balak, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, What has the Lord said?

¹⁸ Balaam took up his [figurative] discourse and said: Rise up, Balak, and hear; listen [closely] to me, son of Zippor.

¹⁹ God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?

²⁰ You see, I have received His command to bless Israel. He has blessed, and I cannot reverse or qualify it.

²¹ [God] has not beheld iniquity in Jacob [for he is forgiven], neither has He seen mischief or perverseness in Israel [for the same reason]. The Lord their God is with Israel, and the shout of praise to their King is among the people.^(B)

²² God brought them forth out of Egypt; they have as it were the strength of a wild ox.

²³ Surely there is no enchantment with or against Jacob, neither is there any divination with or against Israel. [In due season and even] now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God wrought!

²⁴ Behold, a people! They rise up as a lioness and lift themselves up as a lion; he shall not lie down until he devours the prey and drinks the blood of the slain.

³ And he took up his [figurative] discourse and said: Balaam son of Beor, the man whose eye is opened [at last, to see clearly the purposes and will of God],

⁴ He [Balaam] who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered, he says:

⁵ How attractive and considerable are your tents, O Jacob, and your tabernacles, O Israel!

⁶ As valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the riverside, as [rare spice] of lignaloes which the Lord has planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.^(A)

⁷ [Israel] shall pour water out of his own buckets [have his own sources of rich blessing and plenty], and his offspring shall dwell by many waters, and his king shall be higher than ^[a]Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸ God brought [Israel] forth out of Egypt; [Israel] has strength like the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his enemies, crushing their bones and piercing them through with his arrows.

⁹ He couched, he lay down as a lion; and as a lioness, who shall rouse him? Blessed [of God] is he who blesses you [who prays for and contributes to your welfare] and cursed [of God] is he who curses you [who in word, thought, or deed would bring harm upon you].^(B)

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, I called you to curse my enemies, and, behold, you have done nothing but bless them these three times.

¹¹ Therefore now go back where you belong and do it in a hurry! I had intended to promote you to great honor, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.

¹² Balaam said to Balak, Did I not say to your messengers whom you sent to me,

¹³ If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the command of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will, but what the Lord says, that will I speak?

¹⁴ And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, I will tell you what this people [Israel] will do to your people [Moab] in the latter days.

¹⁵ And he took up his [figurative] discourse, and said: Balaam son of Beor speaks, the man whose eye is opened speaks,

¹⁶ He speaks, who heard the words of God and knew the knowledge of the Most High, who saw the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered:

¹⁷ I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but He is not near. A ^[b]star (Star) shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter (Scepter) shall rise out of Israel and shall crush all the corners of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth [Moab’s sons of tumult].^(C)

¹⁸ And Edom shall be [taken as] a possession, [Mount] Seir also shall be dispossessed, who were Israel’s enemies, while Israel does valiantly.

¹⁹ Out of Jacob shall one (One) come having dominion and shall destroy the remnant from the city.

²⁰ [Balaam] looked at Amalek and took up his [prophetic] utterance, and said: Amalek is the foremost of the [neighboring] nations, but in his latter end he shall ^[c]come to destruction.

²¹ And he looked at the Kenites and took up his [prophetic] utterance, and said: Strong is your dwelling place, and you set your nest in the rock.

²² Nevertheless the Kenites shall be wasted. How long shall Asshur (Assyria) take you away captive?

²³ And he took up his [prophetic] speech, and said: Alas, who shall live when God does this and establishes [Assyria]?

²⁴ But ships shall come from Kittim [Cyprus and the greater part of the Mediterranean’s east coast] and shall afflict Assyria and Eber [the Hebrews, certain Arabs, and descendants of Nahor], and he [the victor] also shall come to destruction.

3 Joshua rose early in the morning and they removed from Shittim and came to the Jordan, he and all the Israelites, and lodged there before passing over.

¹⁹ And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and encamped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.