~ The Third Time Balak, King of Moab, Asks Balaam to Curse Israel ~

Then Balak said to Balaam,
"Come, let me take you to another place.
Perhaps it will please God
to let you curse them for me from there."
And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor,
overlooking the wasteland.

Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here,
and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."
Balak did as Balaam had said,
and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Now when Balaam saw
that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel,
he did not resort to sorcery as at other times,
but turned his face toward the desert.
When Balaam looked out
and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe,
the Spirit of God came upon him
and he uttered his oracle:

"The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
the oracle of one who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls prostrate,
and whose eyes are opened:

"How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
your dwelling places, O Israel!
"Like valleys they spread out,
like gardens beside a river,
like aloes planted by the Lord,
like cedars beside the waters.
Water will flow from their buckets;
their seed will have abundant water.

"Their king will be greater than Agag;
their kingdom will be exalted.

"God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.
They devour hostile nations
and break their bones in pieces;
with their arrows they pierce them.
Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
like a lioness -- who dares to rouse them?

"May those who bless you be blessed
and those who curse you be cursed!"

(Numbers 23:27-30; 24:1-9)