the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with his staff. 28And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam: 'What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?' 29And Balaam said unto the ass: 'Because thou hast mocked me; I would there were a sword in my hand, for now I had killed thee.' 30And the ass said unto Balaam: 'Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden all thy life long unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee?' And he said: 'Nay.' 31Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face. 32And the angel of the Lord said unto him: 'Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because thy way is contrary unto me; 33and the ass saw me, and turned aside before me these three times; unless she had turned aside from me, surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her alive.' 34And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord: 'I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me; now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back.' 35And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam: 'Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak.' So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. 36And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto Ir-moab, which is on the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border. 37And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?' 38And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Lo, I am come unto thee; have I now any power at all to speak any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.' 39And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kiriath-huzoth. 40And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him. 41And it came to pass in the morning that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into Bamoth-baal, and he saw from thence the utmost part of the people.
23And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks 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 showeth me I will tell thee.' And he went to a bare height. 4And God met Balaam; and he said unto Him: 'I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.' 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-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. 7And he took up his parable, and said:
From Aram Balak bringeth me,The king of Moab from the mountains of the East:'Come, curse me Jacob,And come, execrate Israel.'8How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?And how shall I execrate, whom the Lord hath not execrated?9For from the top of the rocks I see him,And from the hills I behold him:Lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone,And shall not be reckoned among the nations.10Who hath counted the dust of Jacob,Or numbered the stock of Israel?Let me die the death of the righteous,And let mine 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 putteth 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 took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. 15And he said unto Balak: 'Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I go toward a meeting yonder.' 16And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.' 17And he came to him, and, lo, 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:
Arise, Balak, and hear;Give ear unto me, thou son of Zippor:19God is not a man, that He should lie;Neither the son of man, that He should repent:When He hath said, will He not do it?Or when He hath spoken, will He not make it good?20Behold, I am bidden to bless;And when He hath blessed, I cannot call it back.21None hath beheld iniquity in Jacob,Neither hath one seen perverseness in Israel;The Lord his God is with him,And the shouting for the King is among them.22God who brought them forth out of EgyptIs for them like the lofty horns of the wild-ox.23For there is no enchantment with Jacob,Neither is there any divination with Israel;Now is it said of Jacob and of Israel:'What hath God wrought! '24Behold a people that riseth up as a lioness,And as a lion doth he lift himself up;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 now, I will take thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.' 28And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon the desert. 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 up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
24And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him. 3And he took up his parable, and said:
The saying of Balaam the son of Beor,And the saying of the man whose eye is opened;4The saying of him who heareth the words of God,Who seeth the vision of the Almighty,Fallen down, yet with opened eyes:5How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,Thy dwellings, O Israel!6As valleys stretched out,As gardens by the river-side;As aloes planted of the Lord,As cedars beside the waters;7Water shall flow from his branches,And his seed shall be in many waters;And his king shall be higher than Agag,And his kingdom shall be exalted.8God who brought him forth out of EgyptIs for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox;He shall eat up the nations that are his adversaries,And shall break their bones in pieces,And pierce them through with his arrows.9He couched, he lay down as a lion,And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?Blessed be every one that blesseth thee,And cursed be every one that curseth thee. 10And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam: 'I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. 11Therefore now flee thou to thy place; I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.' 12And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Spoke I not also to thy messengers that thou didst send unto me, saying: 13If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; what the Lord speaketh, that will I speak? 14And now, behold, I go unto my people; come, and I will announce to thee what this people shall do to thy people in the end of days.' 15And he took up his parable, and said:The saying of Balaam the son of Beor,And the saying of the man whose eye is opened;16The saying of him who heareth the words of God,And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High,Who seeth the vision of the Almighty,Fallen down, yet with opened eyes:17I see him, but not now;I behold him, but not nigh;There shall step forth a star out of Jacob,And a scepter shall rise out of Israel,And shall smite through the corners of Moab,And break down all the sons of Seth.18And Edom shall be a possession,Seir also, even his enemies, shall be a possession;While Israel doeth valiantly.19And out of Jacob shall one have dominion,And shall destroy the remnant from the city.
20And he looked on Amalek, and took up his parable, and said:
Amalek was the first of the nations;But his end shall come