New International Version
Numbers 23:8
8How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?
Numbers 23:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?
- English Standard Version (ESV)How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
- New Living Translation (NLT)But how can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I condemn those whom the Lord has not condemned?
Context of Numbers 23:8
6So 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.’ How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced? 9From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations. 10Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my final end be like theirs!”
Read all of Numbers 23Numbers 23:8 word by word
מָ֣ה אֶקֹּ֔ב לֹ֥א קַבֹּ֖ה אֵ֑ל וּמָ֣ה אֶזְעֹ֔ם לֹ֥א זָעַ֖ם יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 23:8
- Numbers 23:20I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
- Isaiah 44:25who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense,
- Isaiah 47:12“Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror.
Commentaries on Numbers 23:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? - It was granted on all hands that no incantations nor imprecations could avail, unless God concurred and ratified them. From God's communication to Balaam he saw that God was determined to bless and defend Israel, and therefore all endeavors to injure them must be in vain.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. 88. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?--A divine blessing has been pronounced over the posterity of Jacob; and therefore, whatever prodigies can be achieved by my charms, all magical skill, all human power, is utterly impotent to counteract the decree of God.Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 23:8
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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