Numbers 23

1 And Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.

Balaam said to King Balak, “Build seven altars for me here. Then kill seven young bulls and seven rams [for a sacrifice].”

2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bull and a ram.

So Balak did that. And then he and Balaam each burned a young bull and a ram [as a sacrifice] on each altar.

3 And Balaam said to Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: perhaps the LORD will come to meet me: and whatever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.

Then Balaam said to Balak, “You stand here close to your burned offerings, and I will go and ask Yahweh if he has something else to tell me. Then I will tell you what he says to me.” Then Balaam went by himself to the top of a hill,

4 And God met Balaam: and he said to him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bull and a ram.

and God appeared to him there. Balaam said to him, “We have built seven altars, and I have killed and burned a young bull and a ram [as a sacrifice to you] on each altar.”

5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.

Then Yahweh gave Balaam a message to give to King Balak. Then he said, “Go back and tell him what I told you.”

6 And he returned to him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.

When Balaam returned to Balak, Balak was standing with the leaders from Moab beside the offerings he had burned [on the altar].

7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, defy Israel.

This is the message that Balaam told them: “Balak, the King of Moab, summoned me to come here from Syria; he brought me here from the hills at the eastern side of Syria. He said, ‘Come and curse the descendants of Jacob for me, saying that bad things will happen to these Israeli people!’

8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?

But (how can I curse people whom God has not cursed?/I certainly cannot curse people whom God has not cursed!) [RHQ] (How can I condemn people whom Yahweh has not condemned?/I cannot condemn people whom Yahweh has not condemned!) [RHQ]

9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

I have seen them from the tops of the rocky peaks. I see that they are a group of people who live by themselves; they have separated themselves from other 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!

(Who can count the descendants of Jacob; they are as numerous as particles of (dust/dirt)?/No one can count the descendants of Jacob; they are as numerous as particles of (dust/dirt)!) [RHQ] (Who can count even a quarter of the Israeli people?/No one can count even a quarter of the Israeli people!) [RHQ] I wish/hope that I will die like righteous people die; I hope that I will die [peacefully] like they will die.”

11 And Balak said to Balaam, What hast thou done to me? I took thee to curse my enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.

Then Balak said, “What have you done to me [RHQ]? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but instead you have (blessed them/asked Yahweh to bless them)!”

12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?

But Balaam replied, “I can [RHQ] say only what Yahweh tells me to say. I cannot say anything else.”

13 And Balak said to him, Come, I pray thee, with me to another place, from which thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and from there curse them for me.

Then King Balak told Balaam, “Come with me to another place. There you will see only part of the Israeli people, and you will be able to curse those people for me.”

14 And 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 every altar.

So Balak took Balaam to a field on the top of Pisgah [Mountain]. There, again he built seven altars and offered a young bull and a ram [as a sacrifice] on each altar.

15 And he said to Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder.

Then Balaam said to the king, “Stand here close to your burned offerings, while I go and talk with Yahweh.”

16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again to Balak, and say thus.

So Balaam did that, and Yahweh appeared to Balaam again and gave him another message. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and tell him that message.”

17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, What hath the LORD spoken?

So Balaam returned to where the king and the leaders from Moab were standing, next to the altar where Balak had burned the sacrifices. Balak asked him, “What did Yahweh say?”

18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise, Balak, and hear; hearken to me, thou son of Zippor:

Then Balaam told him this message: “Balak, listen carefully; hear what I have to say, you son of Zippor [DOU]!

19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

God is not a human being. Humans lie, but God never lies. He never changes his mind/thoughts, as humans do. Whatever he has said that he will do, he does.

20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

He commanded me [to request him] to bless [the Israelis], So he has blessed them, and I cannot change that.

21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.

Yahweh their God is with/helping them; they have declared that he is their true king. So the descendants of Jacob will not be harmed; they will not have any troubles [DOU].

22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

God brought them out of Egypt [where they were slaves]; he is as strong as a wild ox.

23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!

When people curse [PRS] the descendants of Jacob, they will not be harmed; when people work sorcery on them, it will have no power. So now people will say about the descendants of Jacob, ‘God has done wonderful things for the Israelis!’

24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he shall eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

They are very strong, like lionesses that are ready to attack [other animals]; they stand firm like lions. The lions refuse to rest until they have [killed and] eaten their prey, and drunk the blood of the animals they slaughtered.”

25 And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.

Then Balak said to Balaam, “If you will not curse them, then [I certainly] do not [want you to] bless them!”

26 But Balaam answered and said to Balak, Did I not tell thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do?

But Balaam replied, “I told you that I must do only what Yahweh tells me to do!”

27 And Balak said to Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee to another place; perhaps it will please God that thou mayest from there curse them for me.

Then King Balak said to Balaam, “Come with me; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to allow you to curse them from that place.”

28 And Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon.

So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor [Mountain] where they could look down [and see the Israelis in] the desert.

29 And Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bulls and seven rams.

Balaam again told Balak, “Build me seven altars again and kill seven young bulls and seven rams [for a sacrifice].”

30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.

So Balak did what Balaam told him to do. He burned a young bull and a ram on each altar as sacrifices.