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Numbers 23

1Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 2Balak did as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself beside your burnt offering while I go. Perhaps Yahweh will meet me. Whatever he shows me, I will tell you.” He went to a bare height. 4God met Balaam, and Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5Yahweh put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, “Return to Balak and speak this way.” 6He returned to him, and there he was, stationed beside his burnt offering, with all the officials of Moab. 7Balaam took up his oracle and said, “From Aram Balak brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel!’ 8How can I curse whom El has not cursed? How can I denounce whom Yahweh has not denounced? 9For from the tops of the rocks I see them; from the hills I behold them. Look, a people who dwell alone and do not reckon themselves among the nations! 10Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like theirs!”

11Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless them!” 12He answered, “Must I not take care to speak what Yahweh puts in my mouth?” 13Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can see them. You will see only their edge, not all of them. Curse them for me from there.” 14He took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself here beside your burnt offering, while I seek a meeting over there.” 16Yahweh met Balaam and put a word in his mouth. He said, “Return to Balak and speak this way.” 17He came to him, and there he was, stationed beside his burnt offering, with the officials of Moab. Balak said to him, “What did Yahweh say?” 18Balaam took up his oracle and said, “Rise, Balak, and listen! Give ear to me, son of Zippor! 19El is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of humanity, that he should change his mind. Has he said something and will not do it, or spoken and will not fulfill it? 20Look, I have received a blessing; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. 21He has not beheld trouble in Jacob or seen misery in Israel. Yahweh their God is with them, and the shout for a king is among them. 22El brings them out of Egypt; they have strength like the towering horns of a wild ox. 23For no omen works against Jacob, and no divination against Israel. Now it will be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What El has done!’ 24Look, a people rises like a lioness and lifts itself like a lion. It will not lie down until it devours prey and drinks the blood of the slain.”

25Balak said to Balaam, “Then do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all!” 26Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘I must do everything Yahweh says’?” 27Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, and I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will be right in God's eyes for you to curse them for me from there.” 28Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. 29Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 30Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Translation notes 5

23:2–4 — Each altar. The Hebrew has the singular “the altar” after seven altars and seven of each animal. “Each” expresses the distributive sense; no eighth altar or extra animals are implied. The final word of verse 3 can also suggest going alone, but “a bare height” suits the setting.

23:7–10 — El; dust; fourth. El is the Hebrew divine designation often translated simply “God”; it is distinguished here from Yahweh. “Dust of Jacob” preserves the image of an uncountable population. “A fourth of Israel” retains the difficult numerical expression rather than changing it to “dust cloud” or another image. The final singular “like his” refers to the collective people; the English uses “theirs.”

23:13–15 — Come; meeting. The imperative “come” follows the Masoretic reading instruction at verse 13; the written consonants are shorter. “Seek a meeting” leaves the object unstated as in verse 15, while the following verse identifies Yahweh as the one who meets Balaam.

23:19–21 — Humanity; trouble. “A son of humanity” means a human being. The contrast concerns lying and changing a declared purpose in this oracle. The paired words rendered “trouble” and “misery” can also denote wrongdoing and harmful conduct; “he has not seen iniquity” is a serious alternative. The draft does not turn the line into a declaration that Israel has never sinned. “Shout for a king” may be acclamation or a royal battle shout.

23:22–24 — Wild ox; divination. The wild ox is a powerful real animal, though its precise identification remains debated. The rare word before it is commonly understood of strength or high horns. “Against Jacob” competes with “in Jacob,” which would deny the presence of divination within Israel. The lion's devouring and drinking blood are retained as the poem's violent imagery.