Numbers 22:11-12

11‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for ^athey are blessed.”

Numbers 22:18-20

18But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, ^b“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, ^cI could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more. 19So you, too, ^dplease stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” 20 ^eAnd God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; ^fbut only do what I tell you.”

Numbers 22:35

35And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, ^gbut speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

Numbers 23:3-12

3And Balaam said to Balak, ^h“Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come ⁱto meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, 4 ^jand 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.” 5And the Lord ^kput a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. 7And Balaam ^ltook up his discourse and said,

“From ^mAram Balak has brought me,
the king of Moab ⁿfrom the eastern mountains:
‘Come, ^ocurse Jacob for me,
and come, denounce Israel!’
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 ^pI see him,
from the hills I behold him;
behold, ^qa people dwelling alone,
and ^rnot counting itself among the nations!
10 ^sWho can count the dust of Jacob
or number the fourth part ▼

▼Or dust clouds

of Israel?
Let me die ^uthe death of the upright,
and let my end be like his!”
11And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? ^vI took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” 12And he answered and said, ^w“Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Numbers 23:15-26

15Balaam said to Balak, ^x“Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there.” 16And the Lord met Balaam and ^yput a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” 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:
19 ^zGod 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?
20Behold, I received a command to bless:
^aahe has blessed, and ^abI cannot revoke it.
21 ^acHe 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.
22 ^adGod brings them out of Egypt
and is for them like ^aethe horns of the wild ox.
23For there is no enchantment against Jacob,
no ^afdivination against Israel;
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
^ag‘What has God wrought!’
24Behold, a people! ^ahAs a lioness it rises up
and as a lion it lifts itself;
^aiit does not lie down until it has devoured the prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.”
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, ^aj‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?”

Numbers 24:5-10

5How lovely are your tents, O Jacob,
your encampments, O Israel!
6Like palm groves ▼

▼Or valleys

that stretch afar,
like gardens beside a river,
^allike aloes ^amthat the Lord has planted,
like cedar trees beside the waters.
7Water shall flow from his buckets,
and his seed shall be ^anin many waters;
his king shall be higher than ^aoAgag,
and ^aphis kingdom shall be exalted.
8God brings him out of Egypt
and is for him like the ^aqhorns of the wild ox;
he shall ^areat up the nations, his adversaries,
and shall ^asbreak their bones in pieces
and ^atpierce them through with his arrows.
9He crouched, he lay down like a lion
and ^aulike a lioness; who will rouse him up?
^avBlessed are those who bless you,
and cursed are those who curse you.”
10And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he ^awstruck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, ^ax“I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times.

Isaiah 54:17

17no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
^ayand their vindication ▼

▼Or righteousness

from me, declares the Lord.”