Berean Standard Bible
Numbers 23:7
7And 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!’
Numbers 23:7 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)Then Balaam spoke his message: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Balaam took up his discourse and said, "From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: 'Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!'
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he took up his oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’
Context of Numbers 23:7
5Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.” 6So 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!’ 8How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced? 9For 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.
Read all of Numbers 23Numbers 23:7 word by word
וַיִּשָּׂ֥א מְשָׁל֖וֹ וַיֹּאמַ֑ר מִן־אֲ֠רָם יַנְחֵ֨נִי בָלָ֤ק מֶֽלֶךְ־מוֹאָב֙ מֵֽהַרְרֵי־קֶ֔דֶם לְכָה֙ אָֽרָה־לִּ֣י יַעֲקֹ֔ב וּלְכָ֖ה זֹעֲמָ֥ה יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
- And Balaam lifted upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: loudH5375
- an oracleמָשָׁלmâshâl · proverbH4912
- sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Balakבָּלָקbâlâq · BalakH1111
- brought meנָחָהnâchâh · to leadH5148
- fromמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
- Aramאֲרָם'ărâm · (Paddan)-aramH758
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Moabמוֹאָבmô'âb · MoabH4124
- from the mountainsהָרָרhârâr · mountainH2042
- of the eastקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: eastH6924
- Come,’ he saidהָלַךְhâlak · to go: come!H1980
- put a curseאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
- on Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
- denounceזָעַםzâ‛am · be indignantH2194
- Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
Cross-references for Numbers 23:7
- Numbers 23:18Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.
- Numbers 24:3and he lifted up an oracle, saying: “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,
- Job 27:1Job continued his discourse:
- Job 29:1And Job continued his discourse:
- Psalms 78:2I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
- Ezekiel 17:2“Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel
- Ezekiel 20:49Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”
- Micah 2:4In 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.’”
- Habakkuk 2:6Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’
- Matthew 13:33He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”
- Mark 12:12At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away.
- Numbers 24:2When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him,
- Numbers 22:5he sent messengers to summon 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.
- Genesis 10:22The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
- Genesis 28:2“Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
- Deuteronomy 23:4For 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.
Commentaries on Numbers 23:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7And he took up his parable - משלו meshalo, see on Numbers 21:27; (note). All these oracular speeches of Balaam are in hemistich metre in the original. They are highly dignified, and may be considered as immediate poetic productions of the Spirit of God; for it is expressly said, Numbers 23:5, that God put the word in Balaam's mouth, and that the Spirit of God came upon him, Numbers 24:2.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Aram - Or, “highland.” This term denotes the whole elevated region, from the northeastern frontier of Palestine to the Euphrates and the Tigris. The country between these streams was especially designated “Aram-naharaim,” or “Aram of the two rivers:” the Greeks called it Mesopotamia; and here, according to Deuteronomy 23:4, was Balaam‘s home. Compare Numbers 22:5 note.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8Instead of cursing Israel, Balaam spoke about their special status (compare Exodus 19:5–6; Deuteronomy 7:6–9). He recognized that God's blessing had transformed a humble people into a great nation (compare Genesis 12:2–3; 13:16; 28:14). Balaam hoped for similar good fortune for himself (Numbers 23:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. took up his parable--that is, spoke under the influence of inspiration, and in the highly poetical, figurative, and oracular style of a prophet. brought me from Aram--This word joined with "the mountains of the East," denotes the upper portion of Mesopotamia, lying on the east of Moab. The East enjoyed an infamous notoriety for magicians and soothsayers (Is 2:6).Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 23:7
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
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