ltar."

And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, "Return unto
Balak, and thus thou shalt speak."

And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt offering, he,
and all the princes of Moab. And Balaam said,--

"From Aram hath Balak brought me,
The king of Moab from the mountains of the East:
'Come, curse me Jacob,
And come, defy Israel.'
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?
And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?
For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him:
Lo, it is a people that dwell alone,
And shall not be reckoned among the nations. {263}
Who can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
And let my last end be like his!"

And Balak said unto Balaam, "What hast thou done unto me? I took thee
to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them
altogether."

And he answered and said, "Must I not take heed to speak that which
the Lord putteth in my mouth?"

And 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."

And 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.

And he said unto Balak, "Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I
meet the Lord yonder."

And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said,
"Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak."

And 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?" And he said,--

"Rise up, Balak, and hear;
Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
God is not a man, that he should lie;
Neither the son of man, that he should repent: {264}
Hath he said, and shall he not do it?
Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Behold, I have received commandment to bless:
And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,
Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel:
The Lord his God is with him,
And the shout of a king is among them.
God bringeth them forth out of Egypt;
He hath as it were the strength of the wild ox.
Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob,
Neither is there any divinati