He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed {is} he that blesseth thee, and cursed {is} he that curseth thee.

And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, {saying}, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, {There is} yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.

Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.

And the Philistine said unto David, {Am} I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: {of divination: or, of Python}

Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.

As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.

But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made {others} to hope that they would confirm the word.

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver {it} into the hand of the king.

Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed {be} every one that curseth thee, and blessed {be} he that blesseth thee.

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets {declare} good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak {that which is} good.

And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they {are} blessed.

As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.

Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:

Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.

Surely {there is} no enchantment against Jacob, neither {is there} any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! {against: or, in}

And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed {them} these three times.

And the Philistine said unto David, {Am} I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and {so} get them up out of the land.

They encourage themselves {in} an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? {matter: or, speech} {of...: Heb. to hide his snares}

For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.

And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did {it}, as {did} also your rulers.