Numbers · Catholic Public Domain Version
Numbers 23 Catholic Public Domain Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (3)
- Esther and Daniel are the Vulgate books (Esther 1–16 with the Greek additions as chapters 10:4–16; Daniel 1–14 with the Song of the Three, Susanna and Bel). Baruch 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah.
- The translator's footnotes, cross-references, chapter summaries and book introductions in the CrossWire module are not shown.
- No imprimatur; single translator.
1 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.”
1 Y BALAAM dijo á Balac: Edifícame aquí siete altares, y prepárame aquí siete becerros y siete carneros.
2 And when he had acted according to the words of Balaam, they placed a calf and a ram together on each altar.
2 Y Balac hizo como le dijo Balaam: y ofrecieron Balac y Balaam un becerro y un carnero en cada altar.
3 And Balaam said to Balak: “Stand for a little while next to your holocaust, until I go, to see if perhaps the Lord will meet with me. And whatever he will command, I shall speak to you.”
3 Y Balaam dijo á Balac: Ponte junto á tu holocausto, y yo iré: quizá Jehová me vendrá al encuentro, y cualquiera cosa que me mostrare, te la noticiaré. Y así se fué solo.
4 And after he had quickly departed, God met with him. And Balaam, speaking to him, said: “I have set up seven altars, and I have placed a calf and a ram on each.”
4 Y vino Dios al encuentro de Balaam, y [éste] le dijo: Siete altares he ordenado, y en cada altar he ofrecido un becerro y un carnero.
5 Then the Lord placed the word in his mouth, and he said: “Return to Balak, and you shall say this.”
5 Y Jehová puso palabra en la boca de Balaam, y díjole: Vuelve á Balac, y has de hablar así.
6 Returning, he found Balak standing next to his holocaust, with all the leaders of the Moabites.
6 Y volvió á él, y he aquí estaba él junto á su holocausto, él y todos los príncipes de Moab.
7 And taking up his parable, he said: “Balak, king of the Moabites, has led me from Aram, from the mountains of the east. ‘Come forth,’ he said, ‘and curse Jacob. Hurry and condemn Israel.’
7 Y él tomó su parábola, y dijo: De Aram me trajo Balac, rey de Moab, de los montes del oriente: ven, maldíceme á Jacob; y ven, execra á Israel.
8 How shall I curse him, whom God has not cursed? For what reason would I condemn him, whom the Lord does not condemn?
8 ¿Por qué maldeciré yo al que Dios no maldijo? ¿y por qué he de execrar al que Jehová no ha execrado?
9 I will look upon him from the tops of the stones, and I will consider him from the hills. This people shall dwell alone, and they shall not be counted among the nations.
9 Porque de la cumbre de las peñas lo veré, y desde los collados lo miraré: he aquí un pueblo que habitará confiado, y no será contado entre las gentes.
10 Who can number the dust that is Jacob, and who can know the number of the stock of Israel? May my soul die a just death, and may my end be like theirs.”
10 ¿Quién contará el polvo de Jacob, o el número de la cuarta parte de Israel? Muera mi persona de la muerte de los rectos, y mi postrimería sea como la suya.
11 And Balak said to Balaam: “What is this that you are doing? I called for you, in order to curse my enemies, and to the contrary, you bless them.”
11 Entonces Balac dijo á Balaam: ¿Qué me has hecho? hete tomado para que maldigas á mis enemigos, y he aquí has proferido bendiciones.
12 He answered him, “How can I say anything other than what the Lord orders?”
12 Y él respondió, y dijo: ¿No observaré yo lo que Jehová pusiere en mi boca para decirlo?
13 Therefore, Balak said: “Come with me to another place, from where you may see a portion of Israel, though you cannot see them all. Curse them from there.”
13 Y dijo Balac: Ruégote que vengas conmigo á otro lugar desde el cual lo veas; su extremidad solamente verás, que no lo verás todo; y desde allí me lo maldecirás.
14 And when he had led him to a lofty place, on the top of mount Pisgah, Balaam built seven altars, and placing upon each a calf and a ram,
14 Y llevólo al campo de Sophim, á la cumbre de Pisga, y edificó siete altares, y ofreció un becerro y un carnero en cada altar.
15 he said to Balak, “Stand here next to your holocaust, while I continue on to meet him.”
15 Entonces él dijo á Balac: Ponte aquí junto á tu holocausto, y yo iré á encontrar [á Dios] allí.
16 And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said, “Return to Balak, and you shall say this to him.”
16 Y Jehová salió al encuentro de Balaam, y puso palabra en su boca, y díjole: Vuelve á Balac, y así has de decir.
17 Returning, he found him standing next to his holocaust, and the leaders of the Moabites were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
17 Y vino á él, y he aquí que él estaba junto á su holocausto, y con él los príncipes de Moab: y díjole Balac: ¿Qué ha dicho Jehová?
18 But, taking up his parable, he said: “Stand, Balak, and pay attention. Listen, you son of Zippor.
18 Entonces él tomó su parábola, y dijo: Balac, levántate y oye; escucha mis palabras, hijo de Zippor:
19 God is not like a man, so that he would lie, nor is he like a son of man, so that he would be changed. Therefore, having spoken, will he not act? Has he ever spoken, and not fulfilled?
19 Dios no es hombre, para que mienta; ni hijo de hombre para que se arrepienta: el dijo, ¿y no hará?; habló, ¿y no lo ejecutará?
20 I was led here to bless, and I have no strength to hinder the blessing.
20 He aquí, yo he tomado bendición: y él bendijo, y no podré revocarla.
21 There is no idol in Jacob; neither is there a false image to be seen in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the resound of royal victory is in him.
21 No ha notado iniquidad en Jacob, ni ha visto perversidad en Israel: Jehová su Dios es con él, y júbilo de rey en él.
22 God has led him away from Egypt; his strength is like that of the rhinoceros.
22 Dios los ha sacado de Egipto; tiene fuerzas como de unicornio.
23 There is no soothsaying in Jacob, nor any divination in Israel. In their times, it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God has wrought.
23 Porque en Jacob no hay agüero, ni adivinación en Israel: como ahora, será dicho de Jacob y de Israel: ¡Lo que ha hecho Dios!
24 Behold, the people will rise up like a lioness, and lie down like a lion. But they will not lie down until they devour the prey and drink the blood of the slain.”
24 He aquí el pueblo, que como león se levantará, y como león se erguirá: no se echará hasta que coma la presa, y beba la sangre de los muertos.
25 And Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse him, nor bless him.”
25 Entonces Balac dijo á Balaam: Ya que no lo maldices, ni tampoco lo bendigas.
26 And he said, “Have I not told you that whatever God would command of me, I would do?”
26 Y Balaam respondió, y dijo á Balac: ¿No te he dicho que todo lo que Jehová me dijere, aquello tengo de hacer?
27 And Balak said to him: “Come and I will lead you to another place. If perhaps it may please God, then you may curse them from there.”
27 Y dijo Balac á Balaam: Ruégote que vengas, te llevaré á otro lugar; por ventura parecerá bien á Dios que desde allí me lo maldigas.
28 And when he had led him on to the top of mount Peor, which looks out toward the wilderness,
28 Y Balac llevó á Balaam á la cumbre de Peor, que mira hacia Jesimón.
29 Balaam said to him, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.”
29 Entonces Balaam dijo á Balac: Edifícame aquí siete altares, y prepárame aquí siete becerros y siete carneros.
30 Balak did as Balaam had said, and he placed on each altar a calf and a ram.
30 Y Balac hizo como Balaam [le] dijo; y ofreció un becerro y un carnero en cada altar.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Balak
The son of Zippor and king of Moab, who feared Israel and hired Balaam to curse them, but each oracle from the high places turned into a blessing.
Cited in the guide: Numbers 22:2; Numbers 22:4; Numbers 23:2
Cross references (28)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Numbers 23:29; Jude 11; Matthew 23:13; 2 Chronicles 29:21; Proverbs 15:8
- 2 Numbers 23:30; Numbers 23:14
- 3 Numbers 23:15; Genesis 8:20; Leviticus 1:1; Genesis 22:13; Genesis 22:2
- 4 Numbers 23:16; Luke 18:12; Ephesians 2:9; Numbers 22:20; Romans 3:27
- 5 Jeremiah 1:9; Deuteronomy 18:18; Isaiah 51:16; Isaiah 59:21; Numbers 23:16
- 7 Numbers 24:3; Numbers 22:5–6; Deuteronomy 23:4; Numbers 23:18; Job 29:1
- 8 Numbers 23:23; Isaiah 44:25; Numbers 23:20; Numbers 22:12; Isaiah 47:12–13
- 9 Deuteronomy 33:28; Deuteronomy 32:8; Exodus 33:16; Esther 3:8; Ezra 9:2
- 10 Genesis 13:16; Psalm 37:37; Psalm 116:15; Revelation 14:13; 2 Corinthians 5:1
- 11 Nehemiah 13:2; Numbers 24:10; Psalm 109:17–20; Numbers 23:7–8; Numbers 22:17
- 12 Numbers 22:38; Numbers 23:26; Numbers 24:13; Proverbs 26:25; Numbers 23:20
- 13 Psalm 109:17; James 3:9–10; Joshua 24:9; 1 Kings 20:28; Numbers 22:41
- 14 Isaiah 1:10–11; Deuteronomy 3:27; Deuteronomy 4:49; Hosea 12:11; Isaiah 46:6
- 15 Numbers 23:3; Numbers 22:8
- 16 Numbers 23:5; Numbers 22:35; Numbers 24:1
- 17 Numbers 23:26; Jeremiah 37:17; 1 Samuel 3:17
- 18 Judges 3:20
- 19 1 Samuel 15:29; James 1:17; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2
- 20 John 10:27–29; Numbers 22:12; Genesis 12:2; Genesis 22:17; Isaiah 43:13
- 21 Psalm 23:4; Matthew 1:23; Jeremiah 50:20; Romans 4:7–8; Exodus 29:45–46
- 22 Numbers 24:8; Deuteronomy 33:17; Job 39:9–11; Exodus 20:2; Psalm 22:21
- 23 Luke 10:18–19; Joshua 13:22; Numbers 24:1; Micah 6:4–5; Romans 16:20
- 24 Genesis 49:27; Genesis 49:9; Revelation 5:5; Numbers 24:8–9; Numbers 24:17
- 25 Psalm 2:1–3
- 26 Acts 5:29; Numbers 22:18; Acts 4:19–20; Numbers 22:38; 2 Chronicles 18:13
- 27 Romans 11:29; Numbers 23:13; Proverbs 21:30; Isaiah 46:10–11; Isaiah 14:27
- 28 Numbers 21:20; Psalm 106:28
- 29 Numbers 23:1–2
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences