Numbers 23:20
18 Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.
19 God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it.
21 He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox.
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
- I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it.
- KJV
- Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
- WEB
- Behold, I have received a command to bless. He has blessed, and I can’t reverse it.
- ASV
- Behold, I have received [commandment] to bless: And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
- DARBY
- Behold, I have received [mission] to bless; and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
- BLB
- Behold, to bless I have received; and He has blessed, and I can reverse it not.
- ÅB
- Se, å velsigne ble meg gitt; han har velsignet, og jeg kan ikke omstøte det.
- OTB
- Jeg har mottatt en befaling om å velsigne; Han har gitt sin velsignelse, og jeg kan ikke endre den.
- B1930
- Se, å velsigne blev mig gitt; han har velsignet, og jeg kan ikke omstøte det.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
John 10:27–29
My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
Read in contextNumbers 22:12
But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.”
Read in contextGenesis 12:2
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
Read in contextGenesis 22:17
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
Read in contextIsaiah 43:13
Even from eternity I am He, and none can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”
Read in contextRomans 8:38–39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
Read in contextNumbers 22:18
But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command of the LORD my God.
Read in context1 Peter 1:5
who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Read in context