Poetry and Song
121
“From Aram hath Balak brought me,
The king of Moab from the mountains of the East:
Come, curse me Jacob,
And come, defy Israel.
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?
And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not de-
fied?
For from the top of the rocks I see him?
And from the hills I behold him:
Lo, it is a people that dwell alone,
And shall not be reckoned among the nations....
[161]
“Behold, I have received commandment to bless:
And He hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,
Neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel:
The Lord his God is with him,
And the shout of a King is among them....
Surely there is no enchantment against (margin) Jacob,
Neither is there any divination against (margin) Israel:
Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel,
What hath God wrought!”
“He saith, which heareth the words of God,
Which seeth the vision of the Almighty: ...
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,
Thy tabernacles, O Israel!
As valleys are they spread forth,
As gardens by the riverside,
As lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted,
As cedar trees beside the waters.”