English Standard Version
Numbers 23:20
20Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
Numbers 23:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
- New International Version (NIV)I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Listen, I received a command to bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!
Context of Numbers 23:20
18And Balaam took up his discourse and said, "Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor: 19God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. 21He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The Lord their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. 22God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.
Read all of Numbers 23Numbers 23:20 word by word
הִנֵּ֥ה בָרֵ֖ךְ לָקָ֑חְתִּי וּבֵרֵ֖ךְ וְלֹ֥א אֲשִׁיבֶֽנָּה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 23:20
- Numbers 22:12God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
- Genesis 12:2And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
- Genesis 22:17I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,
- Numbers 22:18But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more.
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
- Romans 8:38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
- 1 Peter 1:5who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Commentaries on Numbers 23:20
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20I have received commandment to bless - literally, “I have received to bless.” The reason of his blessing lay in the augury which he acknowledged, and in the divine overruling impulse which he could not resist, not in any “commandment” in words.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-30Verses 11-30 Balak was angry with Balaam. Thus a confession of God's overruling power is extorted from a wicked prophet, to the confusion of a wicked prince. A second time the curse is turned into a blessing; and this blessing is both larger and stronger than the former. Men change their minds, and break their words; but God never changes his mind, and therefore never recalls his promise. And when in Scripture he is said to repent, it does not mean any…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21The Lord kept his promises to bless his people, bringing them no misfortune or trouble. Balaam could not change God's plans. God punished the Hebrews for disobedience. Yet, he supported Israel's cause ever since he freed them from Egypt.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-301. Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars--Balak, being a heathen, would naturally suppose these altars were erected in honor of Baal, the patron deity of his country. It is evident, from Nu 23:4 that they were prepared for the worship of the true God; although in choosing the high places of Baal as their site and rearing a number of altars (2Ki 18:22; Is 17:8; Jr 11:13; Ho 8:11; 10:1), instead of one only, as God had appointed, Balaam blended…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 23:20
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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