23:6 So he returned to him, and he was still standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 23:7 Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying,
“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’
23:8 How can I curse one whom God has not cursed,
or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?
23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see them;
from the hills I watch them.
Indeed, a nation that lives alone,
and it will not be reckoned among the nations.
23:10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let the end of my life be like theirs.”
23:11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary you have only blessed them!” 23:12 Balaam replied, “Must I not be careful to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?” 23:13 Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”
23:14 So Balak brought Balaam to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 23:15 And Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself here by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there. 23:16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 23:17 When Balaam came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
23:18 Balaam uttered his oracle, and said,
“Rise up, Balak, and hear;
Listen to me, son of Zippor:
23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a human being, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen?
23:20 Indeed, I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
23:21 He has not looked on iniquity in Jacob,
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
his acclamation as king is among them.
23:22 God brought them out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull.
23:23 For there is no spell against Jacob,
nor is there any divination against Israel.
At this time it must be said of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘Look at what God has done!’