Numbers 23:5–12

⁵Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.”

⁶So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab.

⁷And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying:

“Balak brought me from Aram,

the king of Moab from the mountains of the east.

‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me;

come and denounce Israel!’

⁸How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?

How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?

⁹For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs,

and I watch them from the hills.

Behold, a people dwelling apart,

not reckoning themselves among the nations.

¹⁰Who can count the dust of Jacob

or number even a fourth of Israel?

Let me die the death of the righteous;

let my end be like theirs!”

¹¹Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!”

¹²But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”