Tanakh & Talmud. Various Authors

her into the way. ²⁴Then the angel of the Lord stood in a hollow way between the vineyards, a fence being on this side, and a fence on that side. ²⁵And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; and he smote her again. ²⁶And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. ²⁷And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with his staff. ²⁸And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam: 'What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?' ²⁹And Balaam said unto the ass: 'Because thou hast mocked me; I would there were a sword in my hand, for now I had killed thee.' ³⁰And the ass said unto Balaam: 'Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden all thy life long unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee?' And he said: 'Nay.' 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. ³²And the angel of the Lord said unto him: 'Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because thy way is contrary unto me; ³³and the ass saw me, and turned aside before me these three times; unless she had turned aside from me, surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her alive.' ³⁴And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord: 'I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me; now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back.' ³⁵And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam: 'Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak.' So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. ³⁶And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto Ir-moab, which is on the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border. ³⁷And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?' ³⁸And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Lo, I am come unto thee; have I now any power at all to speak any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.' ³⁹And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him. ⁴¹And it came to pass in the morning that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into Bamoth-baal, and he saw from thence the utmost part of the people.

      23And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.' ²And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. ³And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go; peradventure the Lord will come to meet me; and whatsoever He showeth me I will tell thee.' And he went to a bare height. ⁴And God met Balaam; and he said unto Him: 'I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.' ⁵And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.' ⁶And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. ⁷And he took up his parable, and said:

      From Aram Balak bringeth me,The king of Moab from the mountains of the East:'Come, curse me Jacob,And come, execrate Israel.'⁸How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?And how shall I execrate, whom the Lord hath not execrated?⁹For from the top of the rocks I see him,And from the hills I behold him:Lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone,And shall not be reckoned among the nations.¹⁰Who hath counted the dust of Jacob,Or numbered the stock of Israel?Let me die the death of the righteous,And let mine end be like his!

      ¹¹And Balak said unto Balaam: 'What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.' ¹²And he answered and said: 'Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord putteth in my mouth?' ¹³And Balak said unto him: 'Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them; thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all; and curse me them from thence.' ¹⁴And he took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. ¹⁵And he said unto Balak: 'Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I go toward a meeting yonder.' ¹⁶And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.' ¹⁷And he came to him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him: 'What hath the Lord spoken?' ¹⁸And he took up his parable, and said:

      Arise, Balak, and hear;Give ear unto me, thou son of Zippor:¹⁹God is not a man, that He should lie;Neither the son of man, that He should repent:When He hath said, will He not do it?Or when He hath spoken, will He not make it good?²⁰Behold, I am bidden to bless;And when He hath blessed, I cannot call it back.²¹None hath beheld iniquity in Jacob,Neither hath one seen perverseness in Israel;The Lord his God is with him,And the shouting for the King is among them.²²God who brought them forth out of EgyptIs for them like the lofty horns of the wild-ox.²³For there is no enchantment with Jacob,Neither is there any divination with Israel;Now is it said of Jacob and of Israel:'What hath God wrought! '²⁴Behold a people that riseth up as a lioness,And as a lion doth he lift himself up;He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey,And drink the blood of the slain.

      ²⁵And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.' ²⁶But Balaam answered and said unto Balak: 'Told not I thee, saying: All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do?' ²⁷And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Come now, I will take thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.' ²⁸And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon the desert. ²⁹And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.' ³⁰And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.

      24And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. ²And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him. ³And he took up his parable, and said:

      The saying of Balaam the son of Beor,And the saying of the man whose eye is opened;⁴The saying of him who heareth the words of God,Who seeth the vision of the Almighty,Fallen down, yet with opened eyes:⁵How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,Thy dwellings, O Israel!⁶As valleys stretched out,As gardens by the river-side;As aloes planted of the Lord,As cedars beside the waters;⁷Water shall flow from his branches,And his seed shall be in many waters;And his king shall be higher than Agag,And his kingdom shall be exalted.⁸God who brought him forth out of EgyptIs for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox;He shall eat up the nations that are his adversaries,And shall break their bones in pieces,And pierce them through with his arrows.⁹He couched, he lay down as a lion,And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?Blessed be every one that blesseth thee,And cursed be every one that curseth thee. ¹⁰And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam: 'I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. ¹¹Therefore now flee thou to thy place; I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.' ¹²And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Spoke I not also to thy messengers that thou didst send unto me, saying: ¹³If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; what the Lord speaketh, that will I speak? ¹⁴And now, behold, I go unto my people; come, and I will announce to thee what this people shall do to thy people in the end of days.' ¹⁵And he took up his parable, and said:The saying of Balaam the son of Beor,And the saying of the man whose eye is opened;¹⁶The saying of him who heareth the words of God,And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High,Who seeth the vision of the Almighty,Fallen down, yet with opened eyes:¹⁷I see him, but not now;I behold him, but not nigh;There shall step forth a star out of Jacob,And a scepter shall rise out of Israel,And shall smite through the corners of Moab,And break