Numbers 23:9

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

7Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak brought me from Aram; the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains: “Come, put a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel!” 8How can I curse someone God has not cursed? How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced? I see them from the top of rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. There is a people living alone; it does not consider itself among the nations. 10Who has counted the dust of Jacob or numbered even one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright; let the end of my life be like theirs. 11“What have you done to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!”

Numbers 23:9 word by word

כִּֽי־מֵרֹ֤אשׁ צֻרִים֙ אֶרְאֶ֔נּוּ וּמִגְּבָע֖וֹת אֲשׁוּרֶ֑נּוּ הֶן־עָם֙ לְבָדָ֣ד יִשְׁכֹּ֔ן וּבַגּוֹיִ֖ם לֹ֥א יִתְחַשָּֽׁב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For from the topרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: topH7218
• of the rocksצוּרtsûr tsûr · rockH6697
• I seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• him, and from the hillsגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · hillH1389
• I beholdשׁוּרshûr · to seeH7789
• him: lo, the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• shall dwellשָׁכַןshâkan · to dwellH7931
• aloneבָּדָדbâdâd · isolationH910
• and shall not be reckonedחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: countH2803
• among the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471

Cross-references for Numbers 23:9

• Exodus 19:5Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine,
• Exodus 33:16How will it be known that I and your people have found favor with you unless you go with us? I and your people will be distinguished by this from all the other people on the face of the earth.”
• Deuteronomy 33:28So Israel dwells securely; Jacob lives untroubled in a land of grain and new wine; even his skies drip with dew.
• Esther 3:8Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom, keeping themselves separate. Their laws are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.
• 2 Corinthians 6:17Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch any unclean thing, and I will welcome you.
• 1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
• Deuteronomy 32:8When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance and divided the human race, he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the people of Israel.
• Ezra 9:2Indeed, the Israelite men have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has become mixed with the surrounding peoples. The leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”
• Jeremiah 46:28And you, my servant Jacob, do not be afraid — this is the Lord’s declaration — for I will be with you. I will bring destruction on all the nations where I have banished you, but I will not bring destruction on you. I will discipline you with justice, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
• Amos 9:9for I am about to give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as one shakes a sieve, but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
• Romans 15:8For I say that Christ became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers,
• Ephesians 2:12At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without 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

• Count
• Abel-Shittim
• Balaam
• Balak
• Bless
• Charm
• Divination
• Genealogy
• Magic; Magician
• Numbers, Book of

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