Numbers 23 · Verse 3

Numbers 23:3

And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.
Numbers 23:3, King James Version

Numbers 23:3 in other translations

BSB“Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam said to Balak. “Perhaps the LORD will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.” So Balaam went off to a barren height,
WEBBalaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.” He went to a bare height.
ASVAnd Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go: peradventure Jehovah will come to meet me; and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare height.
YLTand Balaam saith to Balak, ‘Station thyself by thy burnt-offering and I go on, it may be Jehovah doth come to meet me, and the thing which He sheweth me--I have declared to thee;' and he goeth to a high place.
DARBYAnd Balaam said to Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go; perhaps Jehovah will come to meet me; and whatever he shews me I will tell thee. And he went to a hill.
BBEThen Balaam said to Balak, Take your place by your burned offering, and I will go and see if the Lord comes to me: and I will give you word of whatever he says to me. And he went to an open place on a hill.
WebsterAnd Balaam said to Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go: it may be the LORD will come to meet me: and whatever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a high place.

What does Numbers 23:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. Stand by thy burnt offering--as one in expectation of an important favor. peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he showeth me--that is, makes known to me by word or sign. he went to an high place--apart by himself, where he might practise rites and ceremonies, with a view to obtain a response of the oracle.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 Stand by thy burnt-offering - We have already seen that blessing and cursing in this way were considered as religious rites, and therefore must be always preceded by sacrifice. See this exemplified in the case of Isaac, before he blessed Jacob and Esau, Genesis 27 (note), and the notes there. The venison that was brought to Isaac, of which he did eat, was properly the preparatory sacrifice.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 23:1-10

With the camps of Israel full in view, Balaam ordered seven altars to be built, and a bullock and a ram to be offered on each. Oh the sottishness of superstition, to imagine that God will be at man's beck! The curse is turned into a blessing, by the overruling power of God, in love to Israel. God designed to serve his own glory by Balaam, and therefore met him. If God put a word into the mouth of Balaam, who would…

Read the full comment on Numbers 23:1-10 →

Numbers 23:3 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.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
בִּלְעָ֜םbil.'AmBalaamH1109
לְבָלָ֗קle.va.Lakto BalakH1111
הִתְיַצֵּב֮hit.ya.Tzevtake your standH3320
עַל\־'al-withH5921
עֹלָתֶךָ֒'o.la.te.Khaburnt offering yourH5930
וְאֵֽלְכָ֗הve.'e.le.Khahso let me goH1980
אוּלַ֞י'u.LaiperhapsH194
יִקָּרֵ֤הyi.ka.Rehhe will meetH7136
יְהוָה֙Yah.wehYahwehH3068
לִקְרָאתִ֔יlik.ra.Tito meet meH7122
וּדְבַ֥רu.de.Varand [the] word ofH1697
מַה\־mah-whateverH4100
יַּרְאֵ֖נִיyar.'E.nihe will show meH7200
וְהִגַּ֣דְתִּיve.hi.Gad.tiand I will tellH5046
לָ֑ךְLakhto <the> you
וַיֵּ֖לֶךְvai.Ye.lekhand he wentH1980
שֶֽׁפִי\׃She.fia bare heightH8205

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

Cross references for Numbers 23:3

  • Numbers 23:15

    And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder.

  • Genesis 8:20

    And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

  • Leviticus 1:1

    And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

  • Genesis 22:13

    And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

  • Genesis 22:2

    And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

  • Numbers 22:31-35

    Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive. And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again. …

  • Genesis 22:7-8

    And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

  • Numbers 24:1

    And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

  • Exodus 18:12

    And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God.

  • Numbers 22:8-9

    And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Stand.
15
burnt.
Ge 8:20; 22:2,7,8,13; Ex 18:12; Le 1:1
peradventure.
15; 22:8,9,31-35; 24:1
went to an high place. or, went solitary.

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

Context

  • Numbers 23:2

    And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.

  • Numbers 23:3

    And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.

  • Numbers 23:4

    And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.

Read all of Numbers 23

Numbers 23:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y Balaam dijo á Balac: Ponte junto á tu holocausto, y yo iré: quizá Jehová me vendrá al encuentro, y cualquiera cosa que me mostrare, te la noticiaré. Y así se fué solo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Balaam dit à Balak: Tiens-toi auprès de ton offrande, et je m’en irai; peut-être que l’ Éternel viendra à ma rencontre, et ce qu’il m’aura fait voir je te le rapporterai. Et il s’en alla sur une hauteur découverte.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und Bileam sprach zu Balak: Stelle dich neben dein Brandopfer, und ich will gehen; vielleicht wird Jehova mir entgegenkommen, und was er mich sehen lassen wird, das werde ich dir kundtun. Und er ging auf eine kahle Höhe.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Sta paulisper juxta holocaustum tuum, donec vadam, si forte occurrat mihi Dominus, et quodcumque imperaverit, loquar tibi.