3. And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go; peradventure the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell thee. And thus he went alone.
4. And God met Balaam; and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon each altar a bullock and a ram.
5. And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
6. And he returned unto him, and, behold, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he and all the princes of Moab.
7. And he took up his parable and said, Balak, the king of Moab, has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob and come, denounce Israel.
8. Why should I curse one whom God has not cursed? And why should I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?
9. For from the top of the rocks I have seen him, and from the hills I beheld him; behold, a people that shall dwell in confidence and shall not be counted among the Gentiles.
10. Who shall count the dust of Jacob and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
11. Then Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse my enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.
12. And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord has put in my mouth?
13. And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from which thou may see them; thou hast seen but the utmost part of them and hast not seen them all; and from there thou shalt curse them for me.
14. 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.
15. Then he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder.