New English Translation
Numbers 23:7
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 23:7 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 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. Then 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.’ 8How can I curse one whom God has not cursed, or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced? 9For from the top of the rocks I see them; from the hills I watch them. Indeed, a nation that lives alone, and it 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he took upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: loudH5375
- his parableמָשָׁלmâshâl · proverbH4912
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Balakבָּלָקbâlâq · BalakH1111
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Moabמוֹאָבmô'âb · MoabH4124
- hath broughtנָחָהnâchâh · to leadH5148
- me from Aramאֲרָם'ărâm · (Paddan)-aramH758
- out of the mountainsהָרָרhârâr · mountainH2042
- of the eastקֶ֫דֶםqedem qêdmâh · front: eastH6924
- Comeיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- curseאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
- me Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
- defyזָעַםzâ‛am · be indignantH2194
- Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
Cross-references for Numbers 23:7
- Numbers 23:18Balaam uttered his oracle, and said, “Rise up, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, son of Zippor:
- Numbers 24:3Then he uttered this oracle: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor; the oracle of the man whose eyes are open;
- Job 27:1And Job took up his discourse again:
- Job 29:1Then Job continued his speech:
- Psalms 78:2I will sing a song that imparts wisdom; I will make insightful observations about the past.
- Ezekiel 17:2“Son of man, offer a riddle, and tell a parable to the house of Israel.
- Ezekiel 20:49Then I said, “O sovereign Lord! They are saying of me, ‘Does he not simply speak in eloquent figures of speech?’”
- Micah 2:4In that day people will sing this taunt song to you – they will mock you with this lament: ‘We are completely destroyed; they sell off the property of my people. How they remove it from me! They assign our fields to the conqueror.’
- Habakkuk 2:6“But all these nations will someday taunt him and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead (How long will this go on?) – he who gets rich by extortion!’
- Matthew 13:33He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”
- Mark 12:12Now they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So they left him and went away.
- Numbers 24:2When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
- Numbers 22:5And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying, “Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are settling next to me.
- Genesis 10:22The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
- Genesis 28:2Leave immediately for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
- Deuteronomy 23:4for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim 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
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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