Numbers 23:11-30

11 Then Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!"

12 So he answered and said, "Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?"

13 Then Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there."

14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar

15 And he said to Balak, "Stand here by your burnt offering while I meet the Lord over there."

16 Then the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, "Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak."

17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, "What has the Lord spoken?"

18 Then he took up his oracle and said: "Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor!

19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good

20 Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

21 "He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them

22 God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox.

23 "For there is no sorcery against Jacob, Nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, 'Oh, what God has done!'

24 Look, a people rises like a lioness, And lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain."

25 Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!"

26 So Balaam answered and said to Balak, "Did I not tell you, saying, 'All that the Lord speaks, that I must do'?"

27 Then Balak said to Balaam, "Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there."

28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland.

29 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams."

30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.

Read Chapter Compare

Numbers 23:11-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 23

This chapter gives an account of the sacrifices offered by Balak and Balaam, and how God met Balsam, and put a word into his mouth, which he delivered in the presence of the king of Moab and his princes, Nu 23:1-7, the substance of which are, the separate state and condition of Israel from other nations, their number, and the happiness of the righteous at death, Nu 23:8-10, which made Balak uneasy, since instead of cursing he blessed Israel, and therefore he had him to another place to take a view of the people, Nu 23:11-13 where having offered sacrifices, another word was put into the mouth of Balaam, and which he also delivered before the king and his nobles, Nu 23:14-18, in which were expressed the unchangeableness of God, the irreversibleness of the blessing of Israel, the strength, safety, happiness, and glory of that people, Nu 23:19-24 which made Balak more uneasy still; but willing to try him a third time, he carried him to another place, and there built altars, and offered sacrifices, the consequence of which is related in the next chapter, Nu 23:25-30.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Footnotes 2

[a]. Following Masoretic Text, Targum, and Vulgate; Syriac reads call; Septuagint reads go and ask God.
[b]. Hebrew Jeshimon

Numbers 23:11-30

Share

Settings

Numbers 23:11-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 23

Footnotes 2