Numbers 23

1 And Balaam said to Balak, Build thou here to me seven altars, and make thou ready so many calves, and rams of the same number. (And Balaam said to Balak, Build thou here seven altars for me, and prepare seven calves, and the same number of rams.)

2 And when Balak had done by the word of Balaam, they putted a calf and a ram together on the altar. (And when Balak had done what Balaam had asked, they offered a calf and a ram on each altar.)

3 And (then) Balaam said to Balak, Stand thou (here) a little while beside thy burnt sacrifice, while I go, if in hap the Lord (shall) meet (with) me; and I shall tell thee whatever thing he shall command. And when he had gone [away] swiftly (And when he had quickly gone away by himself),

4 God came to him; and Balaam spake to him, and said, I have raised up seven altars, and I have put a calf and a ram above each of them (and I have put a calf and a ram on each of them)

5 Forsooth the Lord putted a word in his mouth, and said, Turn again to Balak, and thou shalt speak these things. (And the Lord put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thou shalt say these things to him.)

6 He turned again, and found Balak standing beside his burnt sacrifice, and all the princes of Moabites. (And he returned, and found Balak standing beside his burnt sacrifice, he and all the leaders of the Moabites.)

7 And when his parable was taken, he said, Balak, the king of Moabites, brought me from Aram, from the hills of the east; and he said, Come thou, and curse Jacob; haste thou, and curse Israel. (And when he had received his prophecy, he said, Balak, the king of the Moabites, brought me from Syria, yea, from the hills of the east; and he said, Come thou, and curse Jacob; hurry thou, and curse Israel.)

8 How shall I curse, whom God hath cursed not? (But how can I curse, whom God hath not cursed?) by what reason shall I loathe, whom God loatheth not?

9 From the highest flints I shall see him, and from the little hills I shall behold him; the people shall dwell alone, and it shall not be reckoned among heathen men. (From the highest rocks I shall see them, and from the little hills I shall behold them; these people shall live alone, and they shall not be counted among the heathen.)

10 Who may number the dust, that is, the kindred, of Jacob, and who may know the number of the generation of Israel? My life die in the death of just men, and my last things be made like them! (O let me die like the righteous die, and let my ending be made like theirs!)

11 And Balak said to Balaam, What is this that thou doest? I called thee, that thou shouldest curse mine enemies, and on the contrary, thou blessest them.

12 To whom Balaam answered, Whether I may speak (any) other thing, no but that that the Lord commandeth?

13 Therefore Balak said to Balaam, Come with me into another place, from whence thou mayest see a part of Israel, and thou mayest not see all; from thence curse thou him. (And so Balak said to Balaam, Come with me to another place, from where thou can see a part of the Israelites, but thou cannot see all of them; and curse thou them from there.)

14 And when he had led Balaam into an high place, on the top of the hill of Pisgah, he builded there seven altars to Balaam, and when calves and rams were put above them, (And so when he had led Balaam to the Field of Zophim, that is, to the Field of the Watchers, on top of Mount Pisgah, he built seven altars for Balaam, and when a calf and a ram were offered on each altar,

15 Balaam said to Balak, Stand here beside thy burnt sacrifice, while I go to meet with the Lord.

16 And when the Lord had met with Balaam, and had put a word in his mouth, he said, Turn again to Balak (Return to Balak), and thou shalt say these things to him.

17 He turned again, and found Balak standing beside his burnt sacrifice, and the princes of Moabites with him. To whom Balak said, What hath spoken the Lord? (And he returned, and found Balak standing beside his burnt sacrifice, and the leaders of the Moabites with him. And Balak said to him, What hath the Lord said?)

18 And when his parable was taken (And when he had received his prophecy), he said, Stand thou (up), Balak, and harken; hear, thou son of Zippor.

19 God is not a man, that he (can) lie, neither he is as the son of a man, that he (can) be changed; therefore he hath said, and shall he not do it? he hath spoken, and shall he not fulfill it

20 I am brought hither by the Lord to bless; (and) I may not forbid, or hinder, (the) blessing.

21 None idol is in Jacob, neither simulacrum is seen in Israel; his Lord God is with him, and the sound of the victory of a king is in him. (There is no idolatry in Jacob, no false god is seen in Israel; the Lord their God is with them, and they hear the shout of the victory of their King.

22 The Lord God led him out of Egypt, whose strength is like an unicorn; (The Lord God led them out of Egypt, whose strength is like a wild ox;)

23 false divining by (the) chittering of birds is not in Jacob, neither false divining is in Israel. In his times, (that is,) when, where, and how God will, it shall be said to Jacob and to Israel, What the Lord hath wrought! (false divining by the twittering of birds is not in Jacob, yea, false divining is not in Israel. In his own timing, that is, when, where, and how God desireth it, it shall be said of Jacob, and of Israel, What the Lord hath wrought!/Yea, at this time, it can be said of Jacob, and of Israel, What the Lord hath wrought!)

24 Lo! the people shall rise together as a lioness, and it shall be raised as a lion (Lo! the people shall rise up like a lioness, and they shall be raised up like a lion); the lion shall not rest, till he devour [the] prey, and drink the blood of them that be slain.

25 And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse thou, neither bless thou him. (And Balak said to Balaam, If thou wilt not curse them, at least do not thou bless them!)

26 And Balaam said, Whether I said not to thee, that whatever thing God commanded to me, I would do that?

27 And Balak said to him, Come, and I shall lead thee to another place, if in hap it pleaseth God that from thence thou curse him (perhaps it shall please God that thou curse them from there).

28 And when Balak had led him out on(to) the top of the hill of Peor, that beholdeth the wilderness, (And when Balak had led Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, that overlooketh Jeshimon, that is, the wilderness,)

29 Balaam said to Balak, Build here seven altars to me, and make ready so many calves, and rams of the same number. (Balaam said to Balak, Now also build seven altars here for me, and prepare seven calves, and the same number of rams.)

30 Balak did as Balaam said, and he put the calves and the rams, by all the altars. (And Balak did as Balaam said, and he put a calf and a ram on each of the altars.)

Numbers 23 Commentary

Chapter 23

Balak's sacrifice, Balaam pronounces a blessing instead of a curse. (1-10) Balak's disappointment, and second sacrifice, Balaam again blesses Israel. (11-30)

Verses 1-10 With the camps of Israel full in view, Balaam ordered seven altars to be built, and a bullock and a ram to be offered on each. Oh the sottishness of superstition, to imagine that God will be at man's beck! The curse is turned into a blessing, by the overruling power of God, in love to Israel. God designed to serve his own glory by Balaam, and therefore met him. If God put a word into the mouth of Balaam, who would have defied God and Israel, surely he will not be wanting to those who desire to glorify God, and to edify his people; it shall be given what they should speak. He who opened the mouth of the ass, caused the mouth of this wicked man to speak words as contrary to the desire of his heart, as those of the ass were to the powers of the brute. The miracle was as great in the one case as in the other. Balaam pronounces Israel safe. He owns he could do no more than God suffered him to do. He pronounces them happy in their distinction from the rest of the nations. Happy in their numbers, which made them both honourable and formidable. Happy in their last end. Death is the end of all men; even the righteous must die, and it is good for us to think of this with regard to ourselves, as Balaam does here, speaking of his own death. He pronounces the righteous truly blessed, not only while they live, but when they die; which makes their death even more desirable than life itself. But there are many who desire to die the death of the righteous, but do not endeavour to live the life of the righteous; gladly would they have an end like theirs, but not a way like theirs. They would be saints in heaven, but not saints on earth. This saying of Balaam's is only a wish, not a prayer; it is a vain wish, being only a wish for the end, without any care for the means. Many seek to quiet their consciences with the promise of future amendment, or take up with some false hope, while they neglect the only way of salvation, by which a sinner can be righteous before God.

Verses 11-30 Balak was angry with Balaam. Thus a confession of God's overruling power is extorted from a wicked prophet, to the confusion of a wicked prince. A second time the curse is turned into a blessing; and this blessing is both larger and stronger than the former. Men change their minds, and break their words; but God never changes his mind, and therefore never recalls his promise. And when in Scripture he is said to repent, it does not mean any change of his mind; but only a change of his way. There was sin in Jacob, and God saw it; but there was not such as might provoke him to give them up to ruin. If the Lord sees that we trust in his mercy, and accept of his salvation; that we indulge no secret lust, and continue not in rebellion, but endeavour to serve and glorify him; we may be sure that he looks upon us as accepted in Christ, that our sins are all pardoned. Oh the wonders of providence and grace, the wonders of redeeming love, of pardoning mercy, of the new-creating Spirit! Balak had no hope of ruining Israel, and Balaam showed that he had more reason to fear being ruined by them. Since Balaam cannot say what he would have him, Balak wished him to say nothing. But though there are many devices in man's heart, God's counsels shall stand. Yet they resolve to make another attempt, though they had no promise on which to build their hopes. Let us, who have a promise that the vision at the end shall speak and not lie, continue earnest in prayer, ( Luke 18:1 ) .

Chapter Summary

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.