Numbers 24:9

9 He hath bent, he hath lain down as a lion, And as a lioness: who doth raise him up? He who is blessing thee [is] blessed, And he who is cursing thee [is] cursed.'

Numbers 24:9 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 24:9

He couched
Which may respect the posture of the armies of Israel in the plains of Moab:

he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion;
as he would do, and did in the land of Canaan, when conquered by Israel; they took up their residence on it quietly, and dwelt in it securely, and in no more fear of their enemies than a lion, which lays itself down and sleeps without concern anywhere:

who shall stir him up?
who dare do it? as it would be a very rash, bold, daring, and dangerous thing to rouse up a lion lying down; so it is suggested it would be alike to provoke Israel to war at some certain times, in the days of David more especially:

blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee;
which are the very words in which Isaac blessed Jacob, the ancestor of these people, ( Genesis 27:29 ) and which blessing is confirmed by Balaam against his will, and whereby he cursed himself instead of Israel; for though he could not curse him with words, he had cursed him in his heart, and would have done it verbally if he could ^F1.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 "Qui, quia non licuit, non facit, ille facit". Ovid.

Numbers 24:9 In-Context

7 He maketh water flow from his buckets, And his seed [is] in many waters; And higher than Agag [is] his king, And exalted is his kingdom.

8 God is bringing him out of Egypt; As the swiftness of a Reem is to him, He eateth up nations his adversaries, And their bones he breaketh, And [with] his arrows he smiteth,

9 He hath bent, he hath lain down as a lion, And as a lioness: who doth raise him up? He who is blessing thee [is] blessed, And he who is cursing thee [is] cursed.'

10 And the anger of Balak burneth against Balaam, and he striketh his hands; and Balak saith unto Balaam, `To pierce mine enemies I called thee, and lo, thou hast certainly blessed -- these three times;

11 and now, flee for thyself unto thy place; I have said, I do greatly honour thee, and lo, Jehovah hath kept thee back from honour.'