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

3Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went to a deserted height. 4Then God met Balaam, who said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” Then the Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 6So he returned to him, and he was still standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 7Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying, “Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, ‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’

Numbers 23:5 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And 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
• unto Balakבָּלָקbâlâq · BalakH1111
• and thus thou shalt speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696

Cross-references for Numbers 23:5

• Numbers 23:16Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”
• Numbers 22:35But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you may only speak the word that I will speak to you.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
• Deuteronomy 18:18I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command.
• Proverbs 16:1The intentions of the heart belong to a man, but the answer of the tongue comes from the Lord.
• Isaiah 51:16I commission you as my spokesman; I cover you with the palm of my hand, to establish the sky and to found the earth, to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
• Isaiah 59:21“As for me, this is my promise to them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” says the Lord.
• Jeremiah 1:9Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me.
• Luke 12:12for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you must say.”
• John 11:51(Now he did not say this on his own, but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish 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