Logos Bible Study

Numbers 23:18–24

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Balaam Prophesies Again

23:18Balaam40 uttered41 his oracle, and said,

“Rise up,42 Balak, and hear;

Listen to me, son of Zippor:

23:19God is not a man, that he should lie,

nor a human being,43 that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen?44

23:20Indeed, I have received a command45 to bless;

he has blessed,46 and I cannot reverse it.47

23:21He48 has not looked on iniquity in Jacob,49

nor has he seen trouble50 in Israel.

The Lord their God is with them;

his acclamation51 as king is among them.

23:22God brought them52 out of Egypt.

They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull.53

23:23For there is no spell against54 Jacob,

nor is there any divination against Israel.

At this time55 it must be said56 of Jacob

and of Israel, ‘Look at57 what God has done!’

23:24Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,

and like a lion raises himself up;

they will not lie down until they eat their58 prey,

and drink the blood of the slain.”59

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Footnotes

  1. 40 Heb “he.” The antecedent has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  2. 41 Heb “took up.”
  3. 42 The verb probably means “pay attention” in this verse.
  4. 43 Heb “son of man.”
  5. 44 The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.
  6. 45 The Hebrew text simply has “I have received [to] bless.” The infinitive is the object of the verb, telling what he received. Balaam was not actually commanded to bless, but was given the word of blessing so that he was given a divine decree that would bless Israel.
  7. 46 The reference is probably to the first speech, where the Lord blessed Israel. Balaam knows that there is nothing he can do to reverse what God has said.
  8. 47 The verb is the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv), meaning “to cause to return.” He cannot return God’s word to him, for it has been given, and it will be fulfilled.
  9. 48 These could be understood as impersonal and so rendered “no one has discovered.”
  10. 49 The line could mean that God has regarded Israel as the ideal congregation without any blemish or flaw. But it could also mean that God has not looked on their iniquity, meaning, held it against them.
  11. 50 The word means “wrong, misery, trouble.” It can mean the idea of “disaster” as well, for that too is trouble. Here it is parallel to “iniquity” and so has the connotation of something that would give God reason to curse them.
  12. 51 The people are blessed because God is their king. In fact, the shout of acclamation is among them—they are proclaiming the Lord God as their king. The word is used normally for the sound of the trumpet, but also of battle shouts, and then here acclamation. This would represent their conviction that Yahweh is king. On the usage of this Hebrew word see further 929–30 תְּרוּעָה;
  13. 52 The form is the Hiphil participle from יָצַא (yatsa’) with the object suffix. He is the one who brought them out.
  14. 53 The expression is “the horns of the wild ox” ( “unicorn”). The point of the image is strength or power. Horns are also used in the Bible to represent kingship (see Pss 89 and 132).
  15. 54 Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (), 295–96.
  16. 55 The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time”—according to the time, about this time, now.
  17. 56 The Niphal imperfect here carries the nuance of obligation—one has to say in amazement that God has done something marvelous or “it must be said.”
  18. 57 The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
  19. 58 The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.
  20. 59 The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

“Rise, Balak, and hear;

give ear to me, O son of Zippor:

God is not man, that he should lie,

or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Behold, I received a command to bless:

he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.

He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,

nor has he seen trouble in Israel.

The Lord their God is with them,

and the shout of a king is among them.

God brings them out of Egypt

and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

For there is no enchantment against Jacob,

no divination against Israel;

now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,

‘What has God wrought!’

Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up

and as a lion it lifts itself;

it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey

and drunk the blood of the slain.”

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then he spoke his message:

“Arise, Balak, and listen;

hear me, son of Zippor.

God 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.

“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.

God brought them out of Egypt;

they have the strength of a wild ox.

There is no divination against Jacob,

no evil omens against Israel.

It will now be said of Jacob

and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’

The people rise like a lioness;

they rouse themselves like a lion

that does not rest till it devours its prey

and drinks the blood of its victims.”

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Balaam proclaimed his poem:

Balak, get up and listen;

son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!

God is not a man, that he might lie,

or a son of man, that he might change his mind.

Does he speak and not act,

or promise and not fulfill?

I have indeed received a command to bless;

since he has blessed, I cannot change it.

He considers no disaster for Jacob;

he sees no trouble for Israel.

The Lord their God is with them,

and there is rejoicing over the King among them.

God brought them out of Egypt;

he is like the horns of a wild ox for them.

There is no magic curse against Jacob

and no divination against Israel.

It will now be said about Jacob and Israel,

“What great things God has done!”

A people rise up like a lioness;

they rouse themselves like a lion.

They will not lie down until they devour the prey

and drink the blood of the slain.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

This was the message Balaam delivered:

“Rise up, Balak, and listen!

Hear me, son of Zippor.

God is not a man, so he does not lie.

He is not human, so he does not change his mind.

Has he ever spoken and failed to act?

Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

Listen, I received a command to bless;

God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!

No misfortune is in his plan for Jacob;

no trouble is in store for Israel.

For the Lord their God is with them;

he has been proclaimed their king.

God brought them out of Egypt;

for them he is as strong as a wild ox.

No curse can touch Jacob;

no magic has any power against Israel.

For now it will be said of Jacob,

‘What wonders God has done for Israel!’

These people rise up like a lioness,

like a majestic lion rousing itself.

They refuse to rest

until they have feasted on prey,

drinking the blood of the slaughtered!”

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then he uttered his oracle, and said,

“Stand up, Balak, and hear;

listen to me, son of Zippor!

God is not a man, that he should lie,

nor a son of humankind,

that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

And has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Behold, I have received a command to bless;

when he has blessed, I cannot cause it to return.

He has no regard for evil in Jacob,

and he does not see trouble in Israel;

Yahweh his God is with him,

and a shout of a king is among them.

God, who brings them out from Egypt,

is like the strength of a wild ox for them.

Because there is no sorcery against Jacob,

and there is no divination against Israel.

Now it will be said to Jacob and Israel,

what God has done!

Look! the people will rise like the lion;

he raises himself and will not lie down

until he eats the prey

and drinks the blood of the slain.”

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

And he took up his parable, and said,

Rise up, Balak, and hear;

Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

God is not a man, that he should lie;

Neither the son of man, that he should repent:

Hath he said, and shall he not do it?

Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed;

And I cannot reverse it.

He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,

Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel:

The Lord his God is with him,

And the shout of a king is among them.

God brought them out of Egypt;

He hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob,

Neither is there any divination against Israel:

According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel,

What hath God wrought!

Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion,

And lift up himself as a young lion:

He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey,

And drink the blood of the slain.

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