Numbers 22:12

12 God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them, and do not put a curse on the people of Israel, because they have my blessing."

Numbers 22:12 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 22:12

And God said unto Balaam, thou shalt not go with them
Which is a denial of the first thing Balak requested, "come now, therefore" ( Numbers 22:6 )

thou shall not curse the people;
which was the principal thing desired, and in order to which he was solicited to go with the messengers; but this is absolutely forbidden:

for they are blessed;
by the Lord himself, with an irrevocable blessing, and therefore it would be vain and fruitless, as well as dangerous for him to attempt to curse them, ( Genesis 12:3 ) this may have a special respect to the blessing of Jacob by Isaac, which could not be reversed by the solicitations of Esau, and which descended to Jacob's posterity, the Israelites, ( Genesis 27:33 ) .

Numbers 22:12 In-Context

10 He answered, "King Balak of Moab has sent them to tell me

11 that a people who came from Egypt has spread out over the whole land. He wants me to curse them for him, so that he can fight them and drive them out."

12 God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them, and do not put a curse on the people of Israel, because they have my blessing."

13 The next morning Balaam went to Balak's messengers and said, "Go back home; the Lord has refused to let me go with you."

14 So they returned to Balak and told him that Balaam had refused to come with them.