Day 70 of 730

¹The children of Israel traveled, and encamped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho.

²Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

³Moab was very afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.

⁴Moab said to the elders of Midian, "Now this multitude will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field." Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.

⁵He sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the River, to the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, "Behold, there is a people who came out from Egypt. Behold, they cover the surface of the earth, and they are staying opposite me.

⁶Please come now therefore curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: perhaps I shall prevail, that we may strike them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed."

⁷The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.

⁸He said to them, "Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak to me." The princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

⁹God came to Balaam, and said, "Who are these men with you?"

¹⁰Balaam said to God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has said to me,

¹¹'Behold, the people that has come out of Egypt, it covers the surface of the earth: now, come curse me them; perhaps I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out.'"

¹²God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people; for they are blessed."

¹³Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, "Go to your land; for the Lord refuses to permit me to go with you."

¹⁴The princes of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, "Balaam refuses to come with us."

¹⁵Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they.

¹⁶They came to Balaam, and said to him, "Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, 'Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me:

¹⁷for I will promote you to very great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Please come therefore, and curse this people for me.'"

¹⁸Balaam answered the servants of Balak, "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can't go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

¹⁹Now therefore, please wait also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will speak to me more."

²⁰God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak to you, that you shall do."

²¹Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

²²God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the Lord placed himself in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

²³The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the donkey turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the way.

²⁴Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.

²⁵The donkey saw the angel of the Lord, and she thrust herself to the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he struck her again.

²⁶The angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.

²⁷The donkey saw the angel of the Lord, and she lay down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

²⁸The Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?"

²⁹Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have mocked me, I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would have killed you."

³⁰The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Was I ever in the habit of doing so to you?" He said, "No."

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.

³²The angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come forth as an adversary, because your way is perverse before me:

³³and the donkey saw me, and turned aside before me these three times. Unless she had turned aside from me, surely now I would have killed you, and saved her alive."

³⁴Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, "I have sinned; for I did not know that you stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases you, I will go back again."

³⁵The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, "Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak to you, that you shall speak." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

³⁶When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him to the City of Moab, which is on the border of the Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border.

³⁷Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not earnestly send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able indeed to promote you to honor?"

³⁸Balaam said to Balak, "Behold, I have come to you: have I now any power at all to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak."

³⁹Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath Huzoth.

⁴⁰Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes who were with him.

⁴¹It happened in the morning, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal; and he saw from there the utmost part of the people.

¹Balaam said to Balak, "Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bulls and seven rams."

²Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bull and a ram.

³Balaam said to Balak, "Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go: perhaps the Lord will come to meet me; and whatever he shows me I will tell you." He went to a bare height.

⁴God met Balaam: and he said to him, "I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on every altar."

⁵The Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak."

⁶He returned to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, he, and all the princes of Moab.

⁷He took up his parable, and said, "From Aram has Balak brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for me. Come, defy Israel.

⁸How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? How shall I defy whom the Lord has not defied?

⁹For from the top of the rocks I see him. From the hills I see him. Behold, it is a people that dwells alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

¹⁰Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous! Let my last end be like his!"

¹¹Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them altogether."

¹²He answered and said, "Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord puts in my mouth?"

¹³Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place, where you may see them; you shall see but the utmost part of them, and shall not see them all: and curse me them from there."

¹⁴He took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.

¹⁵He said to Balak, "Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet over there."

¹⁶The Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, "Return to Balak, and say this."

¹⁷He came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. Balak said to him, "What has the Lord spoken?"

¹⁸He took up his parable, and said, "Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, you son of Zippor.

¹⁹God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?

²⁰Behold, I have received a command to bless. He has blessed, and I can't reverse it.

²¹He has not seen iniquity in Jacob. Neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him. The shout of a king is among them.

²²God brings them out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild ox.

²³Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God done!

²⁴Behold, the people rises up as a lioness, As a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain."

²⁵Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all."

²⁶But Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell you, saying, 'All that the Lord speaks, that I must do?'"

²⁷Balak said to Balaam, "Come now, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse me them from there."

²⁸Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks down on the desert.

²⁹Balaam said to Balak, "Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bulls and seven rams."

³⁰Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.

¹Hurry, God, to deliver me. Come quickly to help me, Lord.

²Let them be disappointed and confounded who seek my soul. Let those who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.

³Let them be turned because of their shame Who say, "Aha! Aha!"

⁴Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation continually say, "Let God be exalted!"

⁵But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly, God. You are my help and my deliverer. Lord, do not delay.

¹Doesn't wisdom cry out? Doesn't understanding raise her voice?

²On the top of high places by the way, where the paths meet, she stands.

³Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entry doors, she cries aloud:

⁴"To you men, I call! I send my voice to the sons of mankind.

⁵You simple, understand prudence. You fools, be of an understanding heart.

⁶Hear, for I will speak excellent things. The opening of my lips is for right things.

⁷For my mouth speaks truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing crooked or perverse in them.

⁹They are all plain to him who understands, right to those who find knowledge.

¹⁰Receive my instruction rather than silver; knowledge rather than choice gold.

¹¹For wisdom is better than rubies. All the things that may be desired can't be compared to it.

¹²"I, wisdom, have made prudence my dwelling. Find out knowledge and discretion.

¹³The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.

¹⁴Counsel and sound knowledge are mine. I have understanding and power.

¹⁵By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.

¹⁶By me princes rule; nobles, and all the righteous rulers of the earth.

¹⁷I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me.

¹⁸With me are riches, honor, enduring wealth, and prosperity.

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; my yield than choice silver.

²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice;

²¹That I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries.

²²"The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old.

²³I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed.

²⁴When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.

²⁵Before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was brought forth;

²⁶while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

²⁷When he established the heavens, I was there; when he set a circle on the surface of the deep,

²⁸when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong,

²⁹when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth;

³⁰then I was the craftsman by his side. I was a delight day by day, always rejoicing before him,

³¹Rejoicing in his whole world. My delight was with the sons of men.

³²"Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways.

³³Hear instruction, and be wise. Do not refuse it.

³⁴Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts.

³⁵For whoever finds me, finds life, and will obtain favor from the Lord.

³⁶But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death."