Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Fear him not, for into thy hand I have given him, and all his people, and his land, and thou hast done to him as thou hast done to Sihon king of the Amorite, who is dwelling in Heshbon.'

So the sons of Israel killed Og and his sons and all his people, until there was no survivor left to him; and they took possession of his land.

And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.

and Moab was very terrified in the presence of the people because {they} [were] numerous; and Moab dreaded the presence of the {Israelites}.

And Moab said to the elders of Midian, Now will this company lick up all that is round about us, as an ox licks up the green herb of the field. Now Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.

And he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is on the river in the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, a people is come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the face of the land, and they abide over against me.

Please come and put a curse on these people for me because they are more powerful than I am. I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed.”

And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.

And he said to them, Take your rest here tonight, and I will give you an answer after hearing what the Lord says; so the chiefs of Moab kept there with Balaam that night.

And God cometh in unto Balaam, and saith, 'Who are these men with thee?'

‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’”

And God said to Balaam, You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing.

And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.

and the princes of Moab rise, and come in unto Balak, and say, 'Balaam is refusing to come with us.'

Balak sent officials again who were more numerous and higher in rank than the others.

and they come in unto Balaam, and say to him, 'Thus said Balak son of Zippor, Be not, I pray thee, withheld from coming unto me,

for I will greatly honor you and do whatever you ask me. So please come and put a curse on these people for me!’”

But Balaam, in answer; said to the servants of Balak, Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to do anything more or less than the orders of the Lord my God.

and, now, abide, I pray you, in this place, you also, to-night; and I know what Jehovah is adding to speak with me.'

And God cometh in unto Balaam, by night, and saith to him, 'If to call for thee the men have come, rise, go with them, and only the thing which I speak unto thee -- it thou dost do.'

And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.

And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.

And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.

But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.

And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.

And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.

And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.

That's when the LORD enabled the donkey to speak. She asked Balaam, "What did I do to you that you would beat me in the space of only three footsteps?"

And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.

The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life until this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" He said, "No."

Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

And the angel of Jehovah said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because thy way is perverse before me:

And the ass saw me, turning to one side from me three times: if she had not gone to one side, I would certainly have put you to death and kept her safe.

And 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 again.

And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men; but say only what I give you to say. Then Balaam went on with the chiefs of Balak.

And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast.

Balak asked Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”

And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.

And Balaam saith unto Balak, 'Build for me in this place seven altars, and make ready for me in this place seven bullocks and seven rams.'

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

And 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.

And 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.

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

Balaam proclaimed his poem:

Balak brought me from Aram;
the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains:
“Come, put a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel!”

How may I put curses on him who is not cursed by God? how may I be angry with him with whom the Lord is not angry?

From the top of the rocks I see him, looking down on him from the hills: it is a people made separate, not to be numbered among the nations.

“Who can count the dust (the descendants) of Jacob
And the number of even the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God],
And let my end be like his!”

Then said Balak unto Balaam, What hast thou done for me? To revile mine enemies, I summoned thee, and lo! thou hast kept on blessing.

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

Then 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; you won’t see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me.”

And 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.

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

And 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?

And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, Up! Balak, and give ear; give attention to me, O son of Zippor:

God is not a human male he doesn't lie, nor is he a human being he never vacillates. Once he speaks up, he's going to act, isn't he? Once he makes a promise, he'll fulfill it, won't he?

Behold, I have received [a command] to bless; when he has blessed, I cannot cause it to return.

He 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.

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

“For there is no enchantment or omen against Jacob,
Nor is there any divination against Israel.
At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob
And to Israel, what has God done!

Then Balak said to Balaam, If you will not put a curse on them, at all events do not give them a blessing.

But Balaam in answer said to Balak, Did I not say to you, I may only do what the Lord says?

And Balak said to Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee to another place; perhaps it will be right in the sight of God that thou curse me them from thence.

And Balak taketh Balaam to the top of Peor, which is looking on the front of the wilderness,

and Balaam saith unto Balak, 'Build for me in this place seven altars, and make ready for me in this place seven bullocks and seven rams;'

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

And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.

and he taketh up his simile, and saith: 'An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor -- And an affirmation of the man whose eyes are shut --

An affirmation of him who is hearing sayings of God -- Who a vision of the Almighty seeth, Falling -- and eyes uncovered:

They are spread out like valleys, like gardens on a river, like aloes planted by Yahweh, like cedars at [the] waters.

He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

He 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.

Then Balak became furious with Balaam, struck his hands together, and said to him, “I summoned you to put a curse on my enemies, but instead, you have blessed them these three times.

Therefore now flee to your place! I had intended to honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.”

If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?

And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.

And he taketh up his simile, and saith: 'An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor -- And an affirmation of the man whose eyes are shut --

An affirmation of him who is hearing sayings of God -- And knowing knowledge of the Most High; A vision of the Almighty he seeth, Falling -- and eyes uncovered:

I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh: There cometh a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and he shall cut in pieces the corners of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult.

Edom will be his heritage, and he will put an end to the last of the people of Seir.

And out of Jacob shall one have dominion, And shall destroy the remnant from the city.

And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.

And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.

But the Kenite is for a burning; Till when doth Asshur keep thee captive?'

And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!

When, ships, come from the coast of the isles, And humble Assyria, and humble the Hebrew, - And he too, is even to perish?

And Balaam riseth, and goeth, and turneth back to his place, and Balak also hath gone on his way.

And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods.

So Israel had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor: and the Lord was moved to wrath against Israel.

The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people [who have committed sin with the Moabites], and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”

And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.

And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;

and goeth in after the man of Israel unto the hollow place, and pierceth them both, the man of Israel and the woman -- unto her belly, and the plague is restrained from the sons of Israel;

And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.

Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.