Numbers:23-24

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* Then Balaam said to Balak , "Build seven altars for me here , and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams ." * And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken , and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar . * Then 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 ." So he went to a desolate height . * And God met Balaam , and he said to Him , "I have prepared the seven altars , and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram ." * Then the LORD put a word in Balaam 's mouth , and said , "Return to Balak , and thus you shall speak ." * So he returned to him , and there he was , standing by his burnt offering , he and all the princes of Moab . * And he took up his oracle and said : "Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram , From the mountains of the east . "Come , curse Jacob for me , And come , denounce Israel !' * "How shall I curse whom God has not cursed ? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced ? * For from the top of the rocks I see him , And from the hills I behold him ; There ! A people dwelling alone , Not reckoning itself among the nations . * "Who can count the dust of Jacob , Or number one-fourth of Israel ? Let me die the death of the righteous , And let my end be like his !" * Then Balak said to Balaam , "What have you done to me ? I took you to curse my enemies , and look , you have blessed them bountifully !" * So he answered and said , "Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth ?" * Then Balak said to him , "Please come with me to another place from which you may see them ; you shall see only the outer part of them , and shall not see them all ; curse them for me from there ." * So he brought him to the field of Zophim , to the top of Pisgah , and built seven altars , and offered a bull and a ram on each altar . * And he said to Balak , "Stand here by your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there ." * Then the LORD met Balaam , and put a word in his mouth , and said , "Go back to Balak , and thus you shall speak ." * So he came to him , and there he was , standing by his burnt offering , and the princes of Moab were with him . And Balak said to him , "What has the LORD spoken ?" * Then he took up his oracle and said : "Rise up , Balak , and hear ! Listen to me , son of Zippor ! * "God is not a man , that He should lie , Nor a son of man , that He should repent . Has He said , and will He not do ? Or has He spoken , and will He not make it good ? * Behold , I have received a command to bless ; He has blessed , and I cannot reverse it . * "He has not observed iniquity in Jacob , Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel . The LORD his God is with him , And the shout of a King is among them . * God brings them out of Egypt ; He has strength like a wild ox . * "For there is no sorcery against Jacob , Nor any divination against Israel . It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel , "Oh , what God has done !' * Look , a people rises like a lioness , And lifts itself up like a lion ; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey , And drinks the blood of the slain ." * Then Balak said to Balaam , "Neither curse them at all , nor bless them at all !" * So Balaam answered and said to Balak , "Did I not tell you , saying , "All that the LORD speaks , that I must do '?" * Then Balak said to Balaam , "Please come , I will take you to another place ; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there ." * So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor , that overlooks the wasteland . * Then Balaam said to Balak , "Build for me here seven altars , and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams ." * And Balak did as Balaam had said , and offered a bull and a ram on every altar . * Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel , he did not go as at other times , to seek to use sorcery , but he set his face toward the wilderness . * And Balaam raised his eyes , and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes ; and the Spirit of God came upon him . * Then he took up his oracle and said : "The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor , The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened , * The utterance of him who hears the words of God , Who sees the vision of the Almighty , Who falls down , with eyes wide open : * "How lovely are your tents , O Jacob ! Your dwellings , O Israel ! * Like valleys that stretch out , Like gardens by the riverside , Like aloes planted by the LORD , Like cedars beside the waters . * He shall pour water from his buckets , And his seed shall be in many waters . "His king shall be higher than Agag , And his kingdom shall be exalted . * "God brings him out of Egypt ; He has strength like a wild ox ; He shall consume the nations , his enemies ; He shall break their bones And pierce them with his arrows . * "He bows down , he lies down as a lion ; And as a lion , who shall rouse him ?' "Blessed is he who blesses you , And cursed is he who curses you ." * Then Balak 's anger was aroused against Balaam , and he struck his hands together ; and Balak said to Balaam , "I called you to curse my enemies , and look , you have bountifully blessed them these three times ! * Now therefore , flee to your place . I said I would greatly honor you , but in fact , the LORD has kept you back from honor ." * So Balaam said to Balak , "Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me , saying , * "If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold , I could not go beyond the word of the LORD , to do good or bad of my own will . What the LORD says , that I must speak '? * And now , indeed , I am going to my people . Come , I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days ." * So he took up his oracle and said : "The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor , And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened ; * The utterance of him who hears the words of God , And has the knowledge of the Most High , Who sees the vision of the Almighty , Who falls down , with eyes wide open : * "I see Him , but not now ; I behold Him , but not near ; A Star shall come out of Jacob ; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel , And batter the brow of Moab , And destroy all the sons of tumult . * "And Edom shall be a possession ; Seir also , his enemies , shall be a possession , While Israel does valiantly . * Out of Jacob One shall have dominion , And destroy the remains of the city ." * Then he looked on Amalek , and he took up his oracle and said : "Amalek was first among the nations , But shall be last until he perishes ." * Then he looked on the Kenites , and he took up his oracle and said : "Firm is your dwelling place , And your nest is set in the rock ; * Nevertheless Kain shall be burned . How long until Asshur carries you away captive ?" * Then he took up his oracle and said : "Alas ! Who shall live when God does this ? * But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus , And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber , And so shall Amalek , until he perishes ." * So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place ; Balak also went his way . * Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove , and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab .

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