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Numbers 23:7

BalakIsraelMoabAramMoab
Prophecy

5 Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.”

6 So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab.

And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’

8 How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced?

9 For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations.

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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
And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’
KJV
And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
WEB
He took up his parable, and said, “From Aram has Balak brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for me. Come, defy Israel.
ASV
And he took up his parable, and said, From Aram hath Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel.
DARBY
And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east: Come, curse me Jacob, and come, denounce Israel!
BLB
And he lifted up his oracle and said, “Balak has brought me from Aram, the king of Moab, from the mountains of the east: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel.’
ÅB
Da tok han til å kvede og sa: Fra Aram henter meg Balak, fra Østens fjell Moabs konge: Kom og forbann for meg Jakob! Kom og tal ondt over Israel!
OTB
Bileam begynte sin spådom: «Balak hentet meg fra Aram, Moabs konge fra fjellene i øst, og sa: ‘Kom, forbann Jakob for meg; kom, fordøm Israel.’
B1930
Da tok han til å kvede og sa: Fra Aram henter mig Balak, fra Østens fjell Moabs konge: Kom og forbann for mig Jakob! Kom og tal ondt over Israel!

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Numbers 24:3

    and he lifted up an oracle, saying: “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,

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  • Numbers 22:5–6

    he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.

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  • Deuteronomy 23:4

    For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.

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  • Numbers 23:18

    Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.

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  • Job 29:1

    And Job continued his discourse:

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  • Psalms 78:2

    I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,

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  • Micah 2:4

    In that day they will take up a proverb against you and taunt you with this bitter lamentation: ‘We are utterly ruined! He has changed the portion of my people. How He has removed it from me! He has allotted our fields to traitors.’”

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  • Numbers 24:15

    Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying, “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,

    Read in context