Numbers 23

¹And Balaam seide to Balaach, Bilde thou here to me seuene auteris, and make redi so many caluys, and rammes of the same noumbre.

²And whanne he hadde do bi the word of Balaam, thei puttiden a calf and a ram to gidere on the auter.

³And Balaam seide to Balaach, Stond thou a litil while bisidis thi brent sacrifice, while Y go, if in hap the Lord meete me; and Y schal `speke to thee what euer thing he schal comaunde.

⁴And whanne he hadde go swiftli, God cam to hym; and Balaam spak to hym, and seide, Y reiside seuene auteris, and Y puttide a calf and a ram aboue.

⁵Forsothe the Lord `puttide a word in his mouth, and seide, Turne ayen to Balaach, and thou schalt speke these thingis.

⁶He turnede ayen, and fond Balach stondynge bisidis his brent sacrifice, and alle the princes of Moabitis.

⁷And whanne his parable `was takun, he seide, Balaach, the kyng of Moabitis, brouyte me fro Aran, fro the `hillis of the eest; and he seide, Come thou and curse Jacob; haaste thou, and greetli curse thou Israel.

⁸How schal Y curse whom God cursid not? bi what resoun schal Y `haue abhomynable whom God `hath not abhomynable?

⁹Fro the hiyeste flyntis Y schal se hym, and fro litle hillis Y schal biholde hym; the puple schal dwelle aloone, and it schal not be arettid among hethene men.

¹⁰Who may noumbre the dust, that is, kynrede, of Jacob, and knowe the noumbre of the generacioun of Israel? My lijf die in the deeth of iust men, and my laste thingis be maad lijk hem!

¹¹And Balaach seide to Balaam, What is this that thou doist? Y clepide thee, that thou schuldist curse myn enemyes, and ayenward thou blessist hem.

¹²To whom Balaam answeride, Whether Y may speke othir thing no but that that the Lord comaundith?

¹³Therfor Balaach seide to Balaam, Come with me in to anothir place, fro whennus thou se a part of Israel, and mayst not se al; fro thennus curse thou hym.

¹⁴And whanne he hadde led Balaam in to an hiy place, on the cop of the hil of Phasga, he bildide seuene auteris to Balaam, and whanne calues and rammes weren put aboue,

¹⁵he seide to Balaach, Stonde here bisidis thi brent sacrifice, while Y go.

¹⁶And whanne the Lord hadde `come to him, and hadde put `a word in his mouth, he seide, Turne ayen to Balach, and thou schalt seie these thingis to hym.

¹⁷He turnyde ayen, and foond Balach stondynge bisidis his brent sacrifice, and the princis of Moabitis with hym. To whom Balach seide, What spak the Lord?

¹⁸And whanne his parable `was takun, he seide, Stonde, Balach, and herkene; here, thou sone of Sephor. God is not `as a man,

¹⁹that he lye, nethir he is as the sone of a man, that he be chaungid; therfor he seide, and schal he not do? he spak, and schal he not fulfille?

²⁰Y am brouyt to blesse, Y may not forbede blessyng.

²¹Noon idol is in Jacob, nethir symylacre is seyn in Israel; his Lord God is with hym, and the sown of victorie of kyng is in hym.

²²The Lord God ledde hym out of Egipt, whos strengthe is lijk an vnicorn;

²³fals tellyng bi chiteryng of bryddis, `ethir idolatrie, is not in Jacob, nethir fals dyuynyng is in Israel. In his tymes it schal be seide to Jacob and Israel, What the Lord hath wrought!

²⁴Lo! the puple schal rise to gidere as a lionesse, and schal be reisid as a lioun; the lioun schal not reste, til he deuoure prey, and drynke the blood of hem that ben slayn.

²⁵And Balach seide to Balaam, Nether curse thou, nether blesse thou hym.

²⁶And he seide, Whether Y seide not to thee, that what euer thing that God comaundide to me, Y wolde do this?

²⁷And Balach seide to hym, Come, and Y schal lede thee to an other place, if in hap it plesith God that fro thennus thou curse hym.

²⁸And whanne Balaach hadde led hym out on the `cop of the hil of Phegor, that biholdith the wildirnesse,

²⁹Balaam seide to hym, Bilde here seuene auteris to me, and make redi so many caluys, and rammes of the same noumbre.

³⁰Balaach dide as Balaam seide, and he puttide caluys and rammes, bi alle auteris.

Numbers 23

¹And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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?

¹⁸And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou 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?

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

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.

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

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!

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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