Deuteronomy 23:5

5 Yet the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but He turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you.[a]

Deuteronomy 23:5 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 23:5

Nevertheless, the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam,
&c.] To his solicitations, and the methods he took to prevail on the Lord to suffer him to curse Israel, which he gladly would have done for the sake of Balak's reward:

but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee;
in the very mouth of Balaam, as the Targum of Jonathan; for when he opened his mouth and Balak expected he would have cursed Israel, and he intended it, could he have been permitted, the Lord overruled his tongue, and put such words into his mouth, that instead of cursing Israel, he blessed him; see ( Numbers 23:11 ) ,

because the Lord thy God loved thee;
and therefore would not suffer them to be cursed; for whom the Lord loves they are blessed, and shall be so in time and to eternity.

Deuteronomy 23:5 In-Context

3 No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the Lord's assembly; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the Lord's assembly.
4 This is because they did not meet you with food and water on the journey after you came out of Egypt, and because Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim was hired to curse you.#fn
5 Yet the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but He turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you.
6 Never seek peace or friendship with them as long as you live.
7 Do not despise an Edomite, because he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you were a foreign resident in his land.

Footnotes 1

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