Numbers 23:6-23

⁶So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab.

⁷And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying:

“Balak brought me from Aram,

the king of Moab from the mountains of the east.

‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me;

come and denounce Israel!’

⁸How can I curse what God has not cursed?

How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced?

⁹For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs,

and I watch them from the hills.

Behold, a people dwelling apart,

not reckoning 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 righteous;

let my end be like theirs!”

¹¹Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!”

¹²But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

¹³Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp— not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”

¹⁴So Balak took him 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.

¹⁵Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.”

¹⁶And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.”

¹⁷So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the princes of Moab. “What did the LORD say?” Balak asked.

¹⁸Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying:

“Arise, O Balak, and listen;

give ear to me, O son of Zippor.

¹⁹God is not a man, that He should lie,

or a son of man, that He should change His mind.

Does He speak and not act?

Does He promise and not fulfill?

²⁰I have indeed received a command to bless;

He has blessed, and I cannot change it.

²¹He considers no disaster for Jacob;

He sees no trouble for Israel.

The LORD their God is with them,

and the shout of the King is among them.

²²God brought them out of Egypt

with strength like a wild ox.

²³For there is no spell against Jacob

and no divination against Israel.

It will now be said of Jacob and Israel,

‘What great things God has done!’

Related Resources from Heartlight

Cross References for Numbers 23:6-23

The Berean Standard Bible