Numbers

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

1Balaam was a man who spoke messages from God. He said to Balak, the king of Moab, "Build me seven altars here. An altar is a stone table for gifts to God. Also bring seven bulls and seven rams."

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

2Balak did what Balaam asked. On each altar the two men offered a bull and a ram. The animals were killed and burned as gifts to God.

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

3Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering. I am going away for a while. Maybe the LORD will come and meet me. Whatever he shows me, I will tell you." Then Balaam went up to a bare hilltop.

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

4God met Balaam there. Balaam said to him, "I have set up seven altars. On each one I offered a bull and a ram."

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

5The LORD gave Balaam the words to say. He told him, "Go back to Balak and speak these words."

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

6So Balaam went back to him. Balak was standing beside his burning gift. All the leaders of Moab stood there too.

7And 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 me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.

7Then Balaam spoke his message out loud, like a poem: "Balak brought me here from Aram, from the mountains in the east. He said, 'Come and curse Jacob's family for me. Come and speak against Israel.' Jacob's family is another name for the people of Israel.

NoteThe old English says Balaam "took up his parable." Here that means he spoke a message out loud, in the shape of a poem.

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

8"But how can I curse people God has not cursed? How can I speak against people the LORD has not spoken against?

9For 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.

9"I see them from the top of the rocks. I watch them from the hills. They are a people who live on their own. They are not counted with the other nations.

10Who 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!

10"Jacob's people are like dust on the ground. Who could ever count them? Who could count even one fourth of Israel? I wish I could die the way good people die. I wish my end could be like theirs."

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.

11Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies. Instead you have only blessed them!"

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

12Balaam answered, "I must be careful to say only what the LORD gives me to say."

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.

13Balak said to him, "Please come with me to a different place. From there you will see only the edge of their camp. You will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there."

14And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.

14So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, on top of Mount Pisgah. There he built seven altars. He offered a bull and a ram on each one.

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

15Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your burning gift. I will go over there to meet the LORD."

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

16The LORD met Balaam and gave him words to say. He told him, "Go back to Balak and speak these words."

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

17Balaam came back to him. Balak was standing beside his burning gift, with the leaders of Moab. Balak asked him, "What did the LORD say?"

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

18Then Balaam spoke his message out loud: "Stand up, Balak, and listen. Hear what I say, 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 shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

19"God is not a person, so he does not lie. He is not a human, so he does not change his mind. When he says something, does he not do it? When he promises, does he not keep it?

NoteThe old English says God does not "repent." Here that means he does not change his mind about what he has said.

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

20"I was told to bless these people. God has blessed them. I cannot turn that around.

21He 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.

21"He has not seen wrong in Jacob's people. He has not seen trouble in Israel. The LORD their God is with them. They shout out loud for their king.

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

22"God brought them out of Egypt. They are as strong as a wild ox.

NoteThe old English word is "unicorn." It does not mean a horse with a horn. It means a wild ox, a large and very strong animal.

23Surely 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!

23"No magic spell can work against Jacob. No fortune telling can harm Israel. Now people will say about Jacob and Israel, 'Look what God has done!'

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

24"Look, these people get up like a great lion. They rise up like a young lion. A lion does not lie down until it has eaten. It drinks the blood of the animals it has killed."

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

25Balak said to Balaam, "Then do not curse them at all. But do not bless them either!"

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

26Balaam answered Balak, "I already told you. I must do whatever the LORD says."

27And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.

27Balak said to Balaam, "Please come with me. I will take you to another place. Maybe God will be willing to let you curse them from there."

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

28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor. From there they could look out over the empty desert.

29And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.

29Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here. Get seven bulls and seven rams ready for me."

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

30Balak did what Balaam said. He offered a bull and a ram on each altar.