New American Standard Bible 1995
Numbers 23:7
7He took up his 1discourse and said, “From 2Aram Balak has brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the East, ‘3Come curse Jacob for me, And come, 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 word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.” 6So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. He took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the East, ‘Come curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’ 8How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? 9As I see him from the top of the rocks, And I look at him from the hills; Behold, a people who dwells apart, And will not be reckoned 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
- He tookנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: loudH5375
- discourseמָשָׁלmâshâl · proverbH4912
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Aramפַּדָּןpaddân paddan 'ărâm · PaddanH6307
- Balakבָּלָקbâlâq · BalakH1111
- has broughtנָחָהnâchâh · to leadH5148
- Moab’sמוֹאָבmô'âb · MoabH4124
- kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- from the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- of the Eastקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: eastH6924
- Comeהָלַךְhâlak · to go: come!H1980
- curseאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
- Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
- denounceזָעַםzâ‛am · be indignantH2194
- Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
Cross-references for Numbers 23:7
- Numbers 23:18Then he took up his discourse and said, “Arise, O Balak, and hear; Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!
- Numbers 24:3He took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;
- Job 27:1Then Job continued his discourse and said,
- Job 29:1And Job again took up his discourse and said,
- Psalms 78:2I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,
- Ezekiel 17:2“Son of man, propound a riddle and 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 speaking parables?’”
- Micah 2:4On that day they will take up against you a taunt And utter a bitter lamentation and say, ‘We are completely destroyed! He exchanges the portion of my people; How He removes it from me! To the apostate He apportions our fields.’
- Habakkuk 2:6“Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, Even mockery and insinuations against him And say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his-- For how long-- And makes himself rich with loans?’
- Matthew 13:33He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”
- Mark 12:12And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.
- Numbers 24:2And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
- Numbers 22:5So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me.
- Genesis 10:22The sons of Shem were Elam and Asshur and Arpachshad and Lud and Aram.
- Genesis 28:2Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.
- Deuteronomy 23:4because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, 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
Notes
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
New American Standard Bible 1995 — © 1960–1995 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries