New International Version
Numbers 23:20
20I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke 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
18Then he spoke his message: “Arise, Balak, and listen; hear me, son of Zippor. 19God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it. 21“No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them. 22God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a 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 22:12But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”
- Genesis 12:2“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
- Genesis 22:17I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
- Numbers 22:18But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.
- John 10:27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
- Romans 8:38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
- 1 Peter 1:5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is 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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