7 Then he uttered his oracle and said, “From Aram, Balak brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the east: ‘Come! Curse Jacob for me! ‘Come! Denounce Israel!’
8 How can I curse one whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce one whom Adonai has not denounced?
9 From the rocky peaks I see him. From the heights I behold him. Look, he lives as a nation apart, and does not consider himself as being like the other nations.
10 Who can count Jacob’s dust? Who can number a fourth of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!”
11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you’ve actually blessed them!”
12 But in response he said, “Mustn’t I speak whatever Adonai puts into my mouth?”
13 Then Balak said to him, “Come now with me to another place where you can see a part of them only, not all of them. Curse them for me from there.”