23
1 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here shivah mizbechot, and prepare for me here shivah bulls and shivah rams. 2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on each mizbe'ach a bull and a ram. 3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy olah, and I will go; perhaps Hashem will come to meet me; and whatsoever He showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a barren height. 4 And Elohim met Balaam, and he said unto Him, I have prepared shivah hamizbechot, and I have offered upon each mizbe'ach a bull and a ram. 5 And Hashem put a word in Balaamʼs mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. 6 And he returned unto him, and, hinei, he stood by his olah, he, and all the sarim of Moav. 7 And he took up his mashal, and said,
Balak Melech Moav hath brought me from Aram (Syria),
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
Come, curse for me Ya'akov,
and come, denounce Yisroel.
8 How shall I curse,
whom El hath not cursed?
Or how shall I denounce,
whom Hashem hath not denounced?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
and from the heights I behold him; see,
the people shall live apart,
and shall not be reckoned among the Goyim.
10 Who can count the dust of Ya'akov,
and the number of the fourth part of Yisroel?
Let my nefesh die the death of the yesharim (righteous ones),
and let my latter end be like his!
11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I brought thee to curse mine enemies, and, hinei, thou hast altogether put a brocha on them. 12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Hashem hath put in my mouth? 13 And Balak said unto him, Come with me unto another place, from where thou mayest see them; thou shalt see part but not all of them, and curse them for me from there. 14 And he brought him into the sadeh of Tzophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built shivah mizbechot, and offered a bull and a ram on each mizbe'ach. 15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy olah, while I meet Hashem over there. 16 And Hashem met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. 17 And when he came to him, hinei, he stood by his olah, and the sarim of Moav with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath Hashem spoken?
18 And he took up his mashal, and said,
Rise up, Balak, and hear;
pay heed unto me, thou son of Tzippor.
19 El is not an ish, that He should lie;
neither a ben adam, that He should change His mind;
hath He said, and shall He not do it?
Or hath He spoken, and shall He not carry it out?
20 Hinei, I have received commandment to make brocha;
and He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
21 He hath not beheld aven in Ya'akov,
neither hath He seen amal (trouble) in Yisroel.
Hashem Elohav is with him,
and the [jubilant] shout of a melech is about him.
22 El brought them out of Mitzrayim;
He is for them like the strength of a wild ox.
23 Surely there is no nachash (augury) in Ya'akov;
neither is there any kesem (divination) in Yisroel;
at the time it is spoken to Ya'akov and to Yisroel
what El doeth!
24 See, the people shall rise up as a lioness,
and lift up himself as an ari;
he shall not lie down until he devours the prey,
and drinks the dahm of the slain.
25 And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor at all make a brocha on them. 26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Did I not tell thee, saying, All that Hashem speaketh, that I must do? 27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come now, I will bring thee unto another place; perhaps it will please HaElohim that thou mayest curse them for me from there. 28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Pe'or, that overlooks Yeshimon. 29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here shivah mizbechot, and prepare here shivah bulls and shivah rams for me. 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each mizbe'ach.