Numbers 23:5

Numbers 23:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
• New International Version (NIV)The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”

Context of Numbers 23:5

3Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill. 4Now God met with Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” Then the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall speak.” 6So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. 7And he took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the East, saying, ‘Come, declare Jacob cursed for me, And come, curse Israel!’

Numbers 23:5 word by word

וַיָּ֧שֶׂם יְהוָ֛ה דָּבָ֖ר בְּפִ֣י בִלְעָ֑ם וַיֹּ֛אמֶר שׁ֥וּב אֶל־בָּלָ֖ק וְכֹ֥ה תְדַבֵּֽר׃Read the interlinear

• Then the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• a wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• in Balaam’sבִּלְעָםbil‛âm · BalaamH1109
• mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• to Balakבָּלָקbâlâq · BalakH1111
• and thisכֹּהkôh · thusH3541
• you shall speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696

Cross-references for Numbers 23:5

• Numbers 23:16Then the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall speak.”
• Numbers 22:35But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went along with the representatives of Balak.
• Deuteronomy 18:18I will raise up for them a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them everything that I command him.
• Proverbs 16:1The plans of the heart belong to a person, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
• Isaiah 51:16And I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
• Isaiah 59:21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”
• Jeremiah 1:9Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
• Luke 12:12for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
• John 11:51Now he did not say this on his own, but as he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation;

Commentaries on Numbers 23:5

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-30As a diviner, Balaam carried out rituals to look for signs about the future of Israel (compare 23:23; 24:1). Balak had called him to curse Israel, but God repeatedly stopped him. These sacrifices might have related to extispicy. This was the practice of examining animal livers or other organs to predict the future. Ancient Near Eastern texts show that this fortune-telling method was common and well-developed. God had forbidden Israel from such practices…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-64-6. God met Balaam--not in compliance with his incantations, but to frustrate his wicked designs and compel him, contrary to his desires and interests, to pronounce the following benediction [Nu 23:8-10].Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 23:5

• Prophets

In the dictionaries

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

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