Numbers 22:12

12 God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."

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 Balaam said to God, "King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, has sent me this message:

11 "A people has come out of Egypt and has spread over the face of the earth; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.' "

12 God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."

13 So Balaam rose in the morning, and said to the officials of Balak, "Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you."

14 So the officials of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, "Balaam refuses to come with us."