Balaam's first prophecy
1Balaam said to Balak: ‘You must build 7 altars here and you must sacrifice 7 bulls and 7 rams.’
2Balak did what Balaam said and the 2 of them sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar. 3Then Balaam said to Balak: ‘Stay here and stand next to your burnt-offering. I will go away alone. Maybe the Lord will come to me and tell me what I must say.’
Balaam went to a place on the mountain where there were no trees. 4When God came to Balaam, Balaam said to God: ‘I have built 7 altars and I have sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.’
5God then told Balaam what to say and He told Balaam to go back to Balak and tell him. 6Balaam went back to Balak. Balak was standing next to his burnt-offering, with the officials of Moab. 7Then Balaam started to talk. He said:
‘Balak made me come from the land of Aram
from the mountains in the east.
He said: “Come,
curse the descendants of Jacob for me,
and say that bad things will happen to the Israelites.”
8But if the Lord does not curse people,
then I can not curse them.
The Lord did not say
that they must have problems.
Can I say that bad things
must happen to them? No, I can not.
9Because I am on top of the mountain
and I see the people from above,
I look down on them from the hills.
This is a nation that lives alone.
They do not live with other people.
10They are too many to count.
They are as many as sand or dust.
I pray that I will stay honest until I die
and that I will have peace like they do.’
11Balak said to Balaam: ‘What have you done to me? I called you to come and curse my enemies, but you have now blessed them.’
12Balaam answered: ‘I can say only what God tells me to say.’
Balaam's 2nd prophecy
13Balak said to Balaam: ‘Please come with me to another place. From there you will see only some of the tents of the Israelites. You will not see them all. You must stand there and curse them for me.’
14Balak then took Balaam to the field of Zophim on top of Mount Pisgah. They could see very far from there. He built 7 altars and he sacrificed a bull and a sheep ram on each altar. 15Balaam said to Balak: ‘Stand here next to your burnt-offering. I will go and talk to the Lord at another place.’
16The Lord came to Balaam and He told him what to say. The Lord told Balaam to go back to Balak and tell him what He said. 17When Balaam came back to Balak, Balak was still standing next to his burnt-offering, with the officials of Moab. Balak asked Balaam: ‘What did the Lord say?’
18Balaam started to talk and he said:
‘Balak, stand up and listen.
Son of Zippor, you must listen to what I say.
19God is not a man, and He will not lie.
He is not like a man
who changes what He has decided.
When He promises something,
He always does it.
When He says something,
He makes it happen.
20He told me to bless the people,
and if He has blessed someone,
I can not change it.
21He said bad things
will not happen to the Israelites.
He has decided that they will not suffer.
The Lord their God is with them,
and they rejoice in Him, their King.
22God who brought them out of Egypt
is like the horns of an ox to them.
23Yes, no one can use magic against the Israelites,
and no one can say that bad things must happen to them.
People will talk about Israel and say:
“Look what God has done for them.”
24This is a nation which gets up like a lion.
They are ready to attack like a lion
that does not lie down
before it has caught something to eat.
He will not lie down
before he has drunk the blood
of the animals that he has caught.’
25Balak said to Balaam: ‘If you can not curse them, then you must not bless them.’
26Balaam said to Balak: ‘I told you that I will do everything that the Lord tells me to do.’
Balaam's 3rd prophecy
27Balak then said to Balaam: ‘Please come. I want to take you to another place. Maybe God will be pleased if you curse them for me from that place.’
28Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor. From that mountain one could see the desert. 29Balaam said to him: ‘Build 7 altars here and bring 7 bulls and 7 rams that we can sacrifice.’
30Balak did what Balaam told him and he sacrificed a bull and a sheep ram on each altar.
