Numbers 23:6

Numbers 23:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.
• New Living Translation (NLT)So Balaam returned and found the king standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab.

Context of Numbers 23:6

4God met with him, and Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.” 5The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.” So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials. 7Then 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.’ 8How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?

Numbers 23:6 word by word

וַיָּ֣שָׁב אֵלָ֔יו וְהִנֵּ֥ה נִצָּ֖ב עַל־עֹלָת֑וֹ ה֖וּא וְכָל־שָׂרֵ֥י מוֹאָֽב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• unto him, and, lo, he stoodנָצַבnâtsab · to standH5324
• by his burnt sacrificeעֹלָה‛ôlâh ‛ôlâh · burnt offeringH5930
• he, and all the princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• of Moabמוֹאָבmô'âb · MoabH4124

Cross-references for Numbers 23:6

• Numbers 23:3Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren height.

Commentaries on Numbers 23:6

• 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

In the dictionaries

• Moab
• Moab; Moabites
• Moab, Moabite
• Burnt Sacrifice
• Count
• Abel-Shittim
• Balaam
• Balak
• Charm
• Divination

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