99 lines
3.7 KiB
Markdown
99 lines
3.7 KiB
Markdown
Balaam's Oracles
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# Chapter 23
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1. Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."
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2. So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
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3. Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone. Maybe the Lord will meet with me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me." So he went to a barren hill.
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4. God met with him and Balaam said to him, "I have arranged seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar."
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5. Then the Lord put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak and say what I tell you."
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6. So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab.
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Balaam's First Oracle
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7. Balaam proclaimed his poem:
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Balak brought me from Aram;
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the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains:
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"Come, put a curse on Jacob for me;
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come, denounce Israel!"
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8. How can I curse someone God has not cursed?
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How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced?
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9. I see them from the top of rocky cliffs,
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and
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I watch them from the hills.
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There is a people living alone;
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it does not consider itself among the nations.
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10. Who has counted the dust of Jacob
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or numbered even one-fourth of Israel?
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Let me die the death of the upright;
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let the end of my life be like theirs.
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11. "What have you done to me?" Balak asked Balaam. "I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!"
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12. He answered, "Shouldn't I say exactly what the Lord puts in my mouth?"
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Balaam's Second Oracle
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13. 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."
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14. So Balak took him to Lookout Field on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
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15. Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the Lord over there."
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16.
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The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then he said, "Return to Balak and say what I tell you."
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17. So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, "What did the Lord say?"
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18. Balaam proclaimed his poem:
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Balak, get up and listen;
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son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!
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19. God is not a man, that he might lie,
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or a son of man, that he might change his mind.
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Does he speak and not act,
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or promise and not fulfill?
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20. I have indeed received a command to bless;
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since he has blessed, I cannot change it.
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21. He considers no disaster for Jacob;
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he sees no trouble for Israel.
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The Lord their God is with them,
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and there is rejoicing over the King among them.
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22. God brought them out of Egypt;
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he is like the horns of a wild ox for them.
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23. There is no magic curse against Jacob
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and no divination against Israel.
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It will now be said about Jacob and Israel,
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"What great things God has done!"
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24. A people rise up like a lioness;
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they rouse themselves like a lion.
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They will not lie down until they devour the prey
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and drink the blood of the slain.
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25. Then Balak told Balaam, "Don't curse them and don't bless them!"
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26. But Balaam answered him, "Didn't I tell you: Whatever the Lord says, I must do?"
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Balaam's Third Oracle
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27. Again Balak said to Balaam, "Please come. I will take you to another place. Maybe it will be agreeable to God that you can put a curse on them for me there."
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28. So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.
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29. Balaam told Balak, "Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."
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30. So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
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