Numbers 23:13
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!”
12 But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”
14 So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.”
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”
- KJV
- And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.
- WEB
- Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, where you may see them. You shall see just part of them, and shall not see them all. Curse them from there for me.”
- ASV
- And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them; thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.
- DARBY
- And Balak said to him, Come, I pray thee, with me to another place, from whence thou wilt see them; thou shalt see only the extremity of them and shalt not see them all, and curse me them from thence.
- BLB
- And Balak said to him, “Come, please, with me, to another place from that you may see them. Only the outer part of them you shall see, and you shall not see them all. And curse them for me from there.”
- ÅB
- Da sa Balak til ham: Kjære, kom og vær med meg til et annet sted, hvorfra du kan se dem - dog vil du bare få se den ytterste del av folket, det hele folk får du ikke se - og forbann dem for meg derfra!
- OTB
- Balak sa da: «Kom med meg til et annet sted hvor du kan se dem; du vil bare se en del av dem, ikke alle. Derfra, forbann dem for meg.»
- B1930
- Da sa Balak til ham: Kjære, kom og vær med mig til et annet sted, hvorfra du kan se dem - dog vil du bare få se den ytterste del av folket, det hele folk får du ikke se - og forbann dem for mig derfra!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Psalms 109:17
The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him.
Read in contextJames 3:9–10
With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
Read in contextJoshua 24:9
Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,
Read in context1 Kings 20:28
Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
Read in contextNumbers 22:41
The next morning, Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see the outskirts of the camp of the people.
Read in context1 Kings 20:23
Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail.
Read in contextMicah 6:5
My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
Read in context