1 And Balaam said to Balak, "Build for me here seven altars, and provide for me here seven bulls and seven rams."
2 Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram.
3 And Balaam said to Balak, "Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me; and whatever he shows me I will tell you." And he went to a bare height.
4 And God met Balaam; and Balaam said to him, "I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered upon each altar a bull and a ram."
5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak."
6 And he returned to him, and lo, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering.
7 And Balaam took up his discourse, and said, "From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: `Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!'
8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the mountains I see him, from the hills I behold him; lo, a people dwelling alone, and not reckoning itself among the nations!
10 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 end be like his!"
11 And Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them."
12 And he answered, "Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?"
13 And Balak said to him, "Come with me to another place, from which you may see them; you shall see only the nearest of them, and shall not see them all; then curse them for me from there."
14 And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 Balaam said to Balak, "Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder."
16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, "Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak."
17 And he came to him, and, lo, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, "What has the LORD spoken?"
18 And Balaam took up his discourse, and said, "Rise, Balak, and hear; hearken to me, O son of Zippor:
19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?
20 Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
21 He 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 God brings them out of Egypt; they have as it were the horns of the wild ox.
23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, `What has God wrought!'
24 Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down till it devours the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain."
25 And Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all."
26 But Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell you, `All that the LORD says, that I must do'?"
27 And Balak said to Balaam, "Come now, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there."
28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Pe'or, that overlooks the desert.
29 And Balaam said to Balak, "Build for me here seven altars, and provide for me here seven bulls and seven rams."
30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Versículos relacionados com Numbers, 23:
Chapter 23 of the Book of Numbers deals with the attempt by King Moabita, Balaque, to curse the Israelites through the prophet Balaam, that God had prevented from doing this. The following verses are chosen based on the proximity of the chapter's themes and are related to God's blessing and protection over their people:
Psalm 3:8: "Save, Lord; for your faithful are lacking; for the children of men who remain firm are lacking." The psalmist calls for God for salvation and protection amid the scarcity of faithful. Just as the Israelites were blessed by God and protected from the Curse of Balaam, the faithful in Christ are also protected by God in the midst of adversity.
Psalm 5:11: "But all who trust in you are rejoiced, exult eternally, for you defend them; and in you those who love your name in you." This verse shows that those who trust God can rejoice and rejoice, for He defends them. Just as God defended the Israelites of the Curse of Balaam, He also defends and protects those who trust in Him.
Psalm 16:1: "Keep me, O God, because in you refuges me." The psalmist places his confidence in God as his source of refuge and protection. Similarly, the Israelites were blessed by God and protected from the Curse of Balaam for putting their trust in him.
Isaiah 54:17: "No weapon forged against you will prosper, and every language to rise against you in judgment, thou shalt condemn it; this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord and his righteousness that comes from me, says the Lord." This verse states that God protects his servants from every weapon and tongue that rises against them. Just as God protected the Israelites from Balaam's curse, He also protects their servants from all attacks of the enemy.
Jeremiah 17:7: "Blessed is the man who trusts the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord." This verse shows that God's blessing is upon those who trust in Him and wait for him. Similarly, the Israelites were blessed by God and protected from the Curse of Balaam for trusting him.
Fejezetek: