Numbers 23:18

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.

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 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.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.