¹Fear the LORD who created thee and hath kept thee unto this day; and ye, the nobles and the kings, walk not in the way of Satan.

²Walk in the Law and Commandment of the LORD who ruleth all; walk not in the way of Satan.

³As in the days when the children of Israel came toward Amalek to inherit the country of the Hittites, Canaanites, and Perizzites—Balak the son of Zippor and Balaam—

⁴"Whom thou cursest is cursed, and whom thou blessest is blessed." Go not upon the way of Satan, for he hath said, "I will give thee much silver and gold to honour thee, that thou mightest curse them for me, and having cursed them, destroy them for me."

⁵For Balaam came making his reward for divination a provocation, and Balak the son of Zippor shewed him the place where the children of Israel were encamped.

⁶For he wrought his divinations, offered his sacrifices, and slaughtered his fatted oxen and sheep; for he desired to curse and destroy the children of Israel.

⁷But the curse was turned unto a blessing; forasmuch as the LORD willed not that he should curse them by His Word, walk not in the way of Satan.

⁸"Forasmuch as ye are the people the LORD hath chosen, forasmuch as ye are the Dwelling of the LORD that shall come from Heaven, let those that curse thee be cursed, and let those that bless thee be blessed," he said.

⁹And when he blessed them, Balak the son of Zippor was grieved and wroth, and he commanded him again to curse them.

¹⁰For the people whom the LORD blessed had come unto this country, and Balaam spake unto him, "I will not curse Israel, whom the LORD hath blessed."

¹¹And Balak said unto Balaam, "I desired that thou shouldest curse them for me, but thou hast blessed them before me. If thou hadst cursed them and asked me to give unto thee, I would have given thee a house filled with silver and gold. But thou hast blessed them wholly; thou hast done nothing good for me, therefore I will do nothing good for thee."

¹²And Balaam said, "That which the LORD telleth me to speak with my tongue, I will speak; for I dare not disregard the things of the LORD.

¹³I will not curse a blessed people, for the LORD shall be wroth with me if I love silver. I love not silver more than mine own soul.

¹⁴As the LORD spake unto their father Jacob: 'Let those that bless thee be blessed and those that curse thee be cursed.' I will not curse the blessed Jacob; I love not silver more than mine own soul," he said. And as the LORD spake unto him: "He that blesseth thee is blessed—"

¹⁵"—and he that curseth thee unjustly is cursed." Fulfil thy path and thy work that the LORD might love thee.

¹⁶Be not as those of old who grieved the LORD in their transgression and whom He forsook—some of whom He destroyed in the Waters of Destruction.

¹⁷There are those whom He destroyed by the hands of them that hated them and their enemies—evil men who brought tribulation upon them, taking captive their lords, their priests, and their prophets.

¹⁸They carried them away unto a strange country which they knew not; they took them captive, plundered their cattle, and laid waste their land.

¹⁹For they brake down the walls and ramparts of the honoured city, Jerusalem, and they made Jerusalem as a field that is plowed.

²⁰The priests were taken captive, the Law was broken down, and warriors fell in battle.

²¹The widows were taken captive; as they were carried away, they wept for themselves, yet they wept not for their slain husbands.

²²The children wept and the elders were put to shame; they shewed no mercy unto the grey-headed or the aged.

²³They destroyed all they found in the country; they shewed no mercy for beauty or for those in the Law. Forasmuch as the LORD was wroth with His people, He suffered His Dwelling, the Temple, to be destroyed beforehand, and they were taken captive and carried away unto countries and peoples they knew not.

²⁴Because they grieved their Creator continually, the LORD forsook the children of Israel and suffered Jerusalem to be plowed as a field.

²⁵He is gracious unto them because of their fathers, but He destroyed them not all at once. Because He loved their fathers Isaac, Abraham, and Jacob—who reigned truly and walked steadfastly in the upright Law before their Creator—it is because of the kindness of the fathers, and not their own, that He forgiveth them.

²⁶And He appointed them unto a twofold honour; they found two Kingdoms: upon Earth and in Heaven.

²⁷And ye, the kings and nobles who dwell in this passing world: even as your fathers who walked steadfastly in the required work and went before you inherited the Kingdom of Heaven—and as their names are beautiful unto their children's children—think upon them.

²⁸And ye, make straight your work, that He might establish your Kingdom for you, and that your name might be remembered in a goodly manner, even as the righteous kings who went before you and served the LORD with their comely ways.