5 The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouthi and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”j

6 So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials.k 7 Then Balaaml spoke his message:m

“Balak brought me from Aram,n

the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.o

‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel.’p

8 How can I curse

those whom God has not cursed?q

How can I denounce

those whom the Lord has not denounced?r

9 From the rocky peaks I see them,

from the heights I view them.s

I see a people who live apart

and do not consider themselves one of the nations.t

10 Who can count the dust of Jacobu

or number even a fourth of Israel?

Let me die the death of the righteous,v

and may my final end be like theirs!w”

11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies,x but you have done nothing but bless them!”y

12 He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”z