Numbers 23:18

18 He took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, you son of Zippor:

Numbers 23:18 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 23:18

And he took up his parable
Pronounced the word put into his mouth,

and said, rise up Balak, and hear;
not from his seat, as Eglon a successor of his did, ( Judges 3:20 ) for he was now standing by his burnt offering; but the sense is, that he would raise his attention, and stir up himself with all diligence to hear what he was about to say:

hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor;
or to his word, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, which follow.

Numbers 23:18 In-Context

16 Yahweh met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.

17 He came to him, and, behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. Balak said to him, What has Yahweh spoken?

18 He took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, you son of Zippor:

19 God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good

20 Behold, I have received [commandment] to bless: He has blessed, and I can't reverse it.