Numbers 23:7-18

7Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying, “Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, ‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’

8How can I curse one whom God has not cursed, or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?

9For from the top of the rocks I see them; from the hills I watch them. Indeed, a nation that lives alone, and it will 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 upright, and let the end of my life be like theirs.”

11Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary you have only blessed them!”

12Balaam replied, “Must I not be careful to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”

13Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”

14So Balak brought Balaam to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

15And Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself here by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there.

16Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”

17When Balaam came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”

18Balaam uttered his oracle, and said, “Rise up, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, son of Zippor: