Numbers 22:6

Numbers 22:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
• New International Version (NIV)Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

Context of Numbers 22:6

4And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. 7And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak. 8And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as Yhwh shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.

Numbers 22:6 word by word

וְעַתָּה֩ לְכָה־נָּ֨א אָֽרָה־לִּ֜י אֶת־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֗ה כִּֽי־עָצ֥וּם הוּא֙ מִמֶּ֔נִּי אוּלַ֤י אוּכַל֙ נַכֶּה־בּ֔וֹ וַאֲגָרְשֶׁ֖נּוּ מִן־הָאָ֑רֶץ כִּ֣י יָדַ֗עְתִּי אֵ֤ת אֲשֶׁר־תְּבָרֵךְ֙ מְבֹרָ֔ךְ וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר תָּאֹ֖ר יוּאָֽר׃Read the interlinear

• Comeיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• now therefore, I pray thee, curseאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
• me this peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• too mightyעָצוּם‛âtsûm ‛âtsûm · mightyH6099
• for me: peradventure I shall prevailיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• we may smiteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• I may drive them outגָּרַשׁgârash · to drive out: drive outH1644
• of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• for I wotיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• that he whom thou blessestבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288

Cross-references for Numbers 22:6

• Numbers 23:7And 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.
• Numbers 24:9He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
• Genesis 12:3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
• Genesis 27:29Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
• Deuteronomy 23:4Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
• Joshua 24:9Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
• 1 Samuel 17:43And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
• Nehemiah 13:2Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.
• Psalms 109:17As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
• 1 Kings 22:6Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth–gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
• Psalms 109:28Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
• Proverbs 26:2As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
• Isaiah 47:12Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
• Ezekiel 13:6They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, Yhwh saith: And Yhwh hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.
• Acts 8:9But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
• Acts 16:16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

Commentaries on Numbers 22:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people - Balaam, once a prophet of the true God, appears to have been one of the Moshelim, (see Numbers 21:27;), who had added to his poetic gift that of sorcery or divination. It was supposed that prophets and sorcerers had a power to curse persons and places so as to confound all their designs, frustrate their counsels, enervate their strength, and fill them with fear, terror, and dismay. See Genesis 9:25…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6Balaam was a pagan religious specialist called a diviner. A diviner was someone who claimed to receive messages from the spiritual world and predict the future. Balaam came from northwest Mesopotamia (see “Balaam” Profile). Like many ancient peoples, the nations of Moab and Midian believed that spoken words had power. They believed that a blessing or a curse spoken by a skilled diviner could shape future events. Diviners claimed they had special power to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Come ... curse me this people--Among the heathen an opinion prevailed that prayers for evil or curses would be heard by the unseen powers as well as prayers for good, when offered by a prophet or priest and accompanied by the use of certain rites. Many examples are found in the histories of the Greeks and Romans of whole armies being devoted to destruction, and they occur among the natives of India and other heathen countries still. In the Burmese war…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 22:6

• Balaam
• Balak
• Curse
• Prayer
• Sorcery

In the dictionaries

• Crush
• Curse
• Lick
• Midianite
• Moab
• Promote
• Abel-Shittim
• Angel
• Ass
• Balaam

Commentaries on Numbers 22

• 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