1And Balaam said unto Balak , Build me here seven altars , and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. 2And Balak did as Balaam had spoken ; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. 3And Balaam said unto Balak , Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go : peradventure Jehovah will come to meet me ; and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee . And he went to a bare height. 4And God met Balaam : and he said unto him , I have prepared the seven altars , and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar . 5And Jehovah put a word in Balaam ’s mouth , and said , Return unto Balak , and thus thou shalt speak . 6And he returned unto him , and , lo , he was standing by his burnt-offering, he , and all the princes of Moab . 7And he took up his parable , and said, From Aram hath Balak brought me , The king of Moab from the mountains of the East : Come , curse me Jacob , And come , defy Israel . 8How shall I curse , whom God hath not cursed ? And how shall I defy , whom Jehovah hath not defied ? 9For from the top of the rocks I see him , And from the hills I behold him : Lo , it is a people that dwelleth alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations . 10Who can count the dust of Jacob , Or number the fourth part of Israel ? Let me die the death of the righteous , And let my last end be like his ! 11And Balak said unto Balaam , What hast thou done unto me ? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and , behold , thou hast blessed them altogether . 12And he answered and said , Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah putteth in my mouth ?
Balaam's Second Oracle
13And Balak said unto him , Come , I pray thee , with me unto another place , from whence thou mayest see them ; thou shalt see but the utmost part of them , and shalt not see them all : and curse me them from thence . 14And he took him into the field of Zophim , to the top of Pisgah , and built seven altars , and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar . 15And he said unto Balak , Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I meet Jehovah yonder . 16And Jehovah met Balaam , and put a word in his mouth , and said , Return unto Balak , and thus shalt thou speak . 17And he came to him , and , lo , he was standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him . And Balak said unto him , What hath Jehovah spoken ? 18And he took up his parable , and said , Rise up , Balak , and hear ; Hearken unto me , thou son of Zippor : 19God is not a man , that he should lie , Neither the son of man , that he should repent : Hath he said , and will he not do it ? Or hath he spoken , and will he not make it good ? 20Behold , I have received commandment to bless : And he hath blessed , and I cannot reverse it .
Balaam's Third Oracle
21He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob ; Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel : Jehovah his God is with him , And the shout of a king is among them . 22God bringeth them forth out of Egypt ; He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox. 23Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob ; Neither is there any divination with Israel : Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel , What hath God wrought ! 24Behold , the people riseth up as a lioness , And as a lion doth he lift himself up : He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey , And drink the blood of the slain . 25And Balak said unto Balaam , Neither curse them at all , nor bless them at all . 26But Balaam answered and said unto Balak , Told not I thee , saying , All that Jehovah speaketh , that I must do ? 27And Balak said unto Balaam , Come now , I will take thee unto another place ; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence . 28And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor , that looketh down upon the desert . 29And Balaam said unto Balak , Build me here seven altars , and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. 30And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar .