1Da sagde Bileam til kongen: „Byg syv altre her og bring mig syv tyre og syv væddere.”2Balak adlød, hvorefter de i fællesskab ofrede en tyr og en vædder på hvert af de syv altre.3Bileam sagde nu til kongen: „Bliv stående her ved dine brændofre, så vil jeg gå hen og prøve at få Herren i tale. Bagefter skal jeg fortælle dig, hvad Herren siger.” Så gik han op på en nøgen klippetop,4og Herren mødte ham dér. Bileam sagde til Herren: „Jeg har bygget syv altre og ofret en tyr og en vædder på hvert alter.”5Da gav Herren Bileam et budskab til kong Balak.6Så vendte Bileam tilbage til kongen, der stod ved sine brændofre sammen med de moabitiske ledere.7Det budskab, Herren havde givet ham, lød som følger: „Fra Aram lod Balak mig hente, han sendte bud fra østlandets bjerge: ‚Kom og forband Jakob, nedkald Guds vrede over Israel.’8Kan jeg mon forbande, når Gud ikke vil, nedkalde vrede, uden at Herren er vred?9Jeg ser dem fra min udkigspost, fra bjergene skuer mit øje dem: De er et udvalgt folk, udskilt fra andre nationer.10Jakobs slægt kan ikke tælles, Israels folk er som sand på stranden. Det er et gudfrygtigt folk, gid jeg må leve og dø som dem.”11„Hvad i alverden er det, du siger?” udbrød kong Balak. „Bad jeg dig ikke om at forbande mine fjender? Hvorfor velsigner du dem så i stedet for?”12Bileam svarede: „Kan jeg gøre andet end at gentage, hvad Herren har sagt til mig?”13„Nuvel,” sagde Balak, „følg med hen til et andet sted, hvor vi kun kan se en mindre del af folket. Dem kan du i det mindste forbande for mig.”14Så førte Balak ham op til udkigsstedet på toppen af Pisgas bjerg. Her byggede han igen syv altre og ofrede en tyr og en vædder på hvert alter.15Derefter sagde Bileam til kongen: „Bliv stående her ved dit brændoffer, mens jeg går hen og prøver at få Herren i tale.”16Da talte Herren til Bileam og gav ham et budskab til Balak,17hvorpå Bileam vendte tilbage til kongen og de moabitiske ledere, der stod rundt om altrene. „Nå, hvad sagde Herren så?” spurgte kongen ivrigt.18Bileam svarede: „Hør godt efter, kong Balak, spids dine ører, Zippors søn.19Gud er ikke som mennesker, der lyver, han skifter ikke mening, som vi gør. Når han siger noget, så gør han det. Han holder, hvad han lover.20Når han har befalet at velsigne, kan jeg ikke andet end velsigne.21I Jakobs lejr lider man ingen nød, ingen ulykke rammer Israels folk. For Herren, deres Gud, er med dem, de hylder ham som deres konge.22Gud førte dem ud af Egypten, han gav dem styrke som en vildokse.23Forbandelser preller af på Jakob, trolddom har ingen magt over Israel. Nu siger folkeslagene om Israel: ‚Se, hvad Gud har gjort for sit folk.’24Det er et folk, der rejser sig som en løve, som en hanløve, der jager sit bytte. De hviler sig først, efter at de har spist, og når de har drukket de dræbtes blod.”25Da udbrød kong Balak: „Hvis du ikke vil forbande dem, så kunne du i det mindste lade være med at velsigne dem.”26„Kan jeg gøre andet end at gentage, hvad Herren har sagt til mig?” svarede Bileam.27„Nuvel,” sagde Balak, „følg med hen til et tredje sted. Måske Gud går med til, at du forbander dem fra det sted.”28Så førte kong Balak ham op på toppen af Peors bjerg, hvorfra de kunne se ud over ørkenen,29og Bileam opfordrede igen kongen til at bygge syv altre og tilberede syv tyre og syv væddere som brændofre.30Kongen adlød Bileam og ofrede en tyr og en vædder på hvert alter.
1And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” (4.Mos 23,29)2Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram. (4.Mos 23,14; 4.Mos 23,30)3And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, (4.Mos 23,15; 4.Mos 24,1)4and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” (4.Mos 23,16)5And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” (4.Mos 22,38; 4.Mos 23,12; 4.Mos 23,16; 5.Mos 18,18; Es 51,16; Es 59,21; Jer 1,9)6And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering.7And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’ (1.Mos 29,1; 4.Mos 21,27; 4.Mos 22,5; 4.Mos 22,6; 4.Mos 23,18; 4.Mos 24,3; 4.Mos 24,15; 4.Mos 24,20; 4.Mos 24,23; Job 27,1; Job 29,1; Salm 49,4; Salm 78,2; Es 14,4; Mika 2,4)8How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?9For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations! (2.Mos 33,16; 4.Mos 24,17; 5.Mos 32,28; Ez 9,2; Ester 3,8; Ef 2,14)10Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part[1] of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!” (1.Mos 13,16; Salm 37,37; Salm 116,15; Åb 14,13)11And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” (4.Mos 22,11; 4.Mos 24,10; 5.Mos 23,5; Neh 13,2)12And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?” (4.Mos 23,5)
Balaam’s Second Oracle
13And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.”14And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. (4.Mos 23,1)15Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there.” (4.Mos 23,3)16And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” (4.Mos 23,5; 4.Mos 23,12)17And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”18And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor:19God 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? (1.Sam 15,29; Mal 3,6; Rom 11,29; Titus 1,2; Heb 6,18; Jak 1,17)20Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. (1.Mos 12,2; 1.Mos 22,17; 4.Mos 22,12; 4.Mos 22,18)21He 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. (Jer 50,20)22God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. (4.Mos 24,8; 5.Mos 33,17; Job 39,9; Salm 22,21; Salm 92,10)23For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought!’ (4.Mos 22,7; Salm 44,1)24Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.” (1.Mos 49,9; 1.Mos 49,27)25And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.”26But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” (4.Mos 22,18)27And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” (4.Mos 23,13)28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert.[2] (4.Mos 21,20; 4.Mos 25,3; 4.Mos 25,5; 4.Mos 25,18; 4.Mos 31,16; Josva 22,17; Salm 106,28; Hos 9,10)29And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” (4.Mos 23,1)30And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. (4.Mos 23,2)