And 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 summit.
And G.o.d 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."
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 G.o.d 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: G.o.d 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 G.o.d is with him, And the shout of a king is among them.
G.o.d 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 divination with Israel: Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel, "What hath G.o.d wrought!"
Behold, the people 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."
And Balak said unto Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all." But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, "Told not I thee, saying, "All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do"?"
And Balak said unto Balaam, "Come now, I will take thee unto another place; peradventure it will please G.o.d that thou mayest curse me them from thence."
And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon the desert.
And Balaam said unto Balak, "Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams."
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And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.
And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the spirit of G.o.d came upon him. And he said,--
"Balaam the son of Beor saith, And the man whose eye was closed saith: He saith, who heareth the words of G.o.d, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel!
As valleys are they spread forth, As gardens by the river side, As aloes which the Lord hath planted, As cedar trees beside the waters.
Water shall flow from his buckets, And his family shall be in many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.
G.o.d bringeth him forth out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of the wild ox: He shall eat up the nations his adversaries, And shall break their bones in pieces, And smite them through with his arrows.
He couched, he lay down as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?
Blessed be everyone that blesseth thee, And cursed be everyone that curseth thee."
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And 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. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honor; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honor."
And Balaam said unto Balak, "Spoke I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, "If 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"?
"And now, behold, I go unto my people: come, and I will announce to thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days." And he said,--
"Balaam the son of Beor saith, And the man whose eye was closed saith: He saith, who heareth the words of G.o.d, And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open: I see him, but not now: I behold him, but not nigh: There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, And a scepter shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite through the corners of Moab, And break down all the sons of tumult.
And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession, which were his enemies; {267} While Israel doeth valiantly.
And out of Jacob shall one have dominion, And shall destroy the remnant from the city."
And he looked on Amalek, and said,--
"Amalek was the first of the nations; But his latter end shall come to destruction."
And he looked on the Kenite, and said,--
"Strong is thy dwelling place, And thy nest is set in the rock.
Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, Until a.s.shur shall carry thee away captive."
And he said,--
"Alas, who shall live when G.o.d doeth this?
But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, And they shall afflict a.s.shur, and shall afflict Eber, And he also shall come to destruction."
And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.
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THE DEATH OF MOSES.
_He Sees but Cannot Enter the Promised Land_.
(After the Israelites had wandered for many years in the desert, they approached at last the river Jordan, on the borders of the promised land. Moses, their great hero and leader, was not permitted to cross the river, but, after giving the people his last words of advice, climbed the rugged slopes of Mount Nebo, and was never again seen by the eye of man.)
And Moses went and spoke these words unto all Israel. And he said to them, "I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: and the Lord hath said to me, "Thou shalt not go over this Jordan." The Lord thy G.o.d, he will go over before thee; he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath spoken. And the Lord shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and unto their land; whom he destroyed. And the Lord shall deliver them up before you, and ye shall do to them according unto all the commandment which I have commanded you. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them: for the Lord thy G.o.d, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
And Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt go with this people into the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
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