American Standard Version
Numbers 23:9
9For from the top of the rocks I see him,And from the hills I behold him:Lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone,And shall not be reckoned among the nations.
Numbers 23:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
- New International Version (NIV)From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations!
- New King James Version (NKJV)For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, Not reckoning itself among the nations.
Context of Numbers 23:9
7And 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. 8How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him: Lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations. 10Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my last end be like his! 11And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.
Read all of Numbers 23Numbers 23:9 word by word
כִּֽי־מֵרֹ֤אשׁ צֻרִים֙ אֶרְאֶ֔נּוּ וּמִגְּבָע֖וֹת אֲשׁוּרֶ֑נּוּ הֶן־עָם֙ לְבָדָ֣ד יִשְׁכֹּ֔ן וּבַגּוֹיִ֖ם לֹ֥א יִתְחַשָּֽׁב׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Numbers 23:9
- Exodus 19:5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine:
- Exodus 33:16For wherein now shall it be known that I have found favor in thy sight, I and thy people? is it not in that thou goest with us, so that we are separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth?
- Deuteronomy 33:28And Israel dwelleth in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine; Yea, his heavens drop down dew.
- Esther 3:8And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of every people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.
- 2 Corinthians 6:17Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you,
- 1 Peter 2:9But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
- Deuteronomy 32:8When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, When he separated the children of men, He set the bounds of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel.
- Ezra 9:2For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
- Jeremiah 46:28Fear not thou, O Jacob my servant, saith Jehovah; for I am with thee: for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee; but I will not make a full end of thee, but I will correct thee in measure, and will in no wise leave thee unpunished.
- Amos 9:9For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth.
- Romans 15:8For I say that Christ hath been made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given unto the fathers,
- Ephesians 2:12that ye were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Commentaries on Numbers 23:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9From the top of the rocks I see him - That is, from the high places of Baal where he went, Numbers 22:41, that he might the more advantageously see the whole camp of Israel. The people shall dwell alone - They shall ever be preserved as a distinct nation. This prophecy has been literally fulfilled through a period of 3300 years to the present day. This is truly astonishing.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9For from the top of the rocks - The “for” indicates the constraint under which Balaam felt himself. He had been met by God in his own way; from the cliff he had watched for the expected augury; and by the light of this he here interprets, according to the rules of his art, the destiny of Israel. Dwell alone - i. e., apart from others, undisturbed by their tumults, and therefore in safety and just security. Compare the same idea in marginal reference…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-10In his first message from God, Balaam reviewed why he had come to Moab (23:5, 16). He explained how Balak had called him. He also stressed that God had a special relationship with Israel. Balaam made clear that he could not harm Israel because God was protecting them. These messages are written as poetry. Hebrew poetry often uses parallelism. Parallelism places two similar lines together. The second line repeats or strengthens the first line in a clear…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. from the top--literally, "a bare place" on the rocks, to which Balak had taken him, for it was deemed necessary to see the people who were to be devoted to destruction. But that commanding prospect could contribute nothing to the accomplishment of the king's object, for the destiny of Israel was to be a distinct, peculiar people, separated from the rest of the nations in government, religion, customs, and divine protection (De 33:28). So that although…Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries