Numbers 23:5

5 Then God gave Balaam a message: "Return to Balak and give him this message."

Numbers 23:5 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 23:5

And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth
&c.] Not grace into his heart, nor the fear of God within him, but suggested to him what to say; impressed it strongly on him, that he could not forget it, and with such power and weight, that he was obliged to deliver it:

and said, return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak;
that is, unto him, and what is expressed in ( Numbers 22:7-10 ) .

Numbers 23:5 In-Context

3 Balaam instructed Balak: "Stand watch here beside your Whole-Burnt-Offering while I go off by myself. Maybe God will come and meet with me. Whatever he shows or tells me, I'll report to you." Then he went off by himself.
4 God did meet with Balaam. Balaam said, "I've set up seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
5 Then God gave Balaam a message: "Return to Balak and give him this message."
6 He went back and found him stationed beside his Whole-Burnt-Offering and with him all the nobles of Moab.
7 Then Balaam spoke his message-oracle: Balak led me here from Aram, the king of Moab all the way from the eastern mountains. "Go, curse Jacob for me; go, damn Israel."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.