“From ^(B)Aram Balak has brought me,
    the king of Moab ^(C)from the eastern mountains:
‘Come, ^(D)curse Jacob for me,
    and come, denounce Israel!’
⁸ How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
    How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
⁹ For from the top of the crags ^(E)I see him,
    from the hills I behold him;
behold, ^(F)a people dwelling alone,
    and ^(G)not counting itself among the nations!
^10 (H)Who can count the dust of Jacob
    or number the fourth part^[a] of Israel?
Let me die ^(I)the death of the upright,
    and let my end be like his!”

“Rise, Balak, and hear;
    give ear to me, O son of Zippor:
^19 (A)God is not man, that he should lie,
    or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
    Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
²⁰ Behold, I received a command to bless:
    ^(B)he has blessed, and ^(C)I cannot revoke it.
^21 (D)He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
    nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
    and the shout of a king is among them.
^22 (E)God brings them out of Egypt
    and is for them like ^(F)the horns of the wild ox.
²³ For there is no enchantment against Jacob,
    no ^(G)divination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
    ^(H)‘What has God wrought!’
²⁴ Behold, a people! ^(I)As a lioness it rises up
    and as a lion it lifts itself;
^(J)it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey
    and drunk the blood of the slain.”

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
    the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,^[a]
4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God,
    who sees the vision of the Almighty,
    ^(B)falling down with his eyes uncovered:
⁵ How lovely are your tents, O Jacob,
    your encampments, O Israel!
⁶ Like palm groves^[b] that stretch afar,
    like gardens beside a river,
^(C)like aloes ^(D)that the Lord has planted,
    like cedar trees beside the waters.
⁷ Water shall flow from his buckets,
    and his seed shall be ^(E)in many waters;
his king shall be higher than ^(F)Agag,
    and ^(G)his kingdom shall be exalted.
⁸ God brings him out of Egypt
    and is for him like the ^(H)horns of the wild ox;
he shall ^(I)eat up the nations, his adversaries,
    and shall ^(J)break their bones in pieces
    and ^(K)pierce them through with his arrows.
⁹ He crouched, he lay down like a lion
    and ^(L)like a lioness; who will rouse him up?
^(M)Blessed are those who bless you,
    and cursed are those who curse you.”

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
    the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
¹⁶ the oracle of him who hears the words of God,
    and knows the knowledge of ^(B)the Most High,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
    ^(C)falling down with his eyes uncovered:
^17 (D)I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near:
^(E)a star shall come out of Jacob,
    and ^(F)a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall ^(G)crush the forehead^[a] of Moab
    and break down all the sons of Sheth.
^18 (H)Edom shall be dispossessed;
    ^(I)Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed.
    Israel is doing valiantly.
¹⁹ And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion
    and destroy the survivors of cities!”

“Amalek was the first among the nations,
    ^(K)but its end is utter destruction.”

“Enduring is your dwelling place,
    and your nest is set in the rock.
²² Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned
    when Asshur takes you away captive.”

“Alas, who shall live when God does this?
²⁴     But ships shall come from ^(L)Kittim
and shall afflict Asshur and ^(M)Eber;
    and he too ^(N)shall come to utter destruction.”