Numbers 23 · Verse 20

Numbers 23:20

Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
Numbers 23:20, King James Version

Numbers 23:20 in other translations

BSBI have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it.
WEBBehold, I have received a command to bless. He has blessed, and I can’t reverse it.
ASVBehold, I have received commandment to bless: And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
YLTLo, to bless I have received: Yea, He blesseth, and I can not reverse it.
DARBYBehold, I have received mission to bless; and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
BBESee, I have had orders to give blessing: and he has given a blessing which I have no power to take away.
WebsterBehold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

What does Numbers 23:20 mean?

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 23:11-30

Balak was angry with Balaam. Thus a confession of God's overruling power is extorted from a wicked prophet, to the confusion of a wicked prince. A second time the curse is turned into a blessing; and this blessing is both larger and stronger than the former. Men change their minds, and break their words; but God never changes his mind, and therefore never recalls his promise. And when in Scripture he is said to…

Read the full comment on Numbers 23:11-30 →

Numbers 23:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הִנֵּ֥הhi.Nehhere!H2009
בָרֵ֖ךְva.Rekh[surely] blessingH1288
לָקָ֑חְתִּיla.Ka.che.tiI have receivedH3947
וּבֵרֵ֖ךְu.ve.Rekhand he has blessedH1288
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
אֲשִׁיבֶֽנָּה\׃'a.shi.Ve.nahI will turn back itH7725

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 23:20

  • John 10:27-29

    My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

  • Numbers 22:12

    And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.

  • Genesis 12:2

    And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

  • Genesis 22:17

    That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

  • Isaiah 43:13

    Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

  • Romans 8:38-39

    For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  • Numbers 22:18

    And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

  • 1 Peter 1:5

    Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

  • Numbers 22:38

    And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
he hath.
22:12; Ge 12:2; 22:17
I cannot.
22:18,38; Joh 10:27-29; Ro 8:38,39; 1Pe 1:5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Numbers 23:19

    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?

  • Numbers 23:20

    Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

  • Numbers 23:21

    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.

Read all of Numbers 23

Numbers 23:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
He aquí, yo he tomado bendición: y él bendijo, y no podré revocarla.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Voici, j’ai reçu mission de bénir; il a béni et je ne le révoquerai pas.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Siehe, zu segnen habe ich empfangen; und er hat gesegnet, und ich kann es nicht wenden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Ad benedicendum adductus sum: benedictionem prohibere non valeo.