New Living Translation
Numbers 23:7
7This was the message Balaam delivered: “Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel’s doom.’
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
5The Lord gave Balaam a message for King Balak. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and give him my message.” 6So Balaam returned and found the king standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab. This was the message Balaam delivered: “Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel’s doom.’ 8But how can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I condemn those whom the Lord has not condemned? 9I see them from the cliff tops; I watch them from the hills. I see a people who live by themselves, set apart from other 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 23:18This was the message Balaam delivered: “Rise up, Balak, and listen! Hear me, son of Zippor.
- Numbers 24:3and this is the message he delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly,
- Job 27:1Job continued speaking:
- Job 29:1Job continued speaking:
- Psalms 78:2for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
- Ezekiel 17:2“Son of man, give this riddle, and tell this story to the people of Israel.
- Ezekiel 20:49Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, they are saying of me, ‘He only talks in riddles!’”
- Micah 2:4In that day your enemies will make fun of you by singing this song of despair about you: “We are finished, completely ruined! God has confiscated our land, taking it from us. He has given our fields to those who betrayed us.”
- Habakkuk 2:6“But soon their captives will taunt them. They will mock them, saying, ‘What sorrow awaits you thieves! Now you will get what you deserve! You’ve become rich by extortion, but how much longer can this go on?’
- Matthew 13:33Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
- Mark 12:12The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
- Numbers 24:2where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him,
- Numbers 22:5sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said: “Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me.
- Genesis 10:22The descendants of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
- Genesis 28:2Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters.
- Deuteronomy 23:4These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant 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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