Numbers 23:7
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.
Numbers 23:7 in other translations
| BSB | And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’ |
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| WEB | He took up his parable, and said, “From Aram has Balak brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for me. Come, defy Israel. |
| ASV | And he took up his parable, and said, From Aram hath Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel. |
| YLT | And he taketh up his simile, and saith: ‘From Aram he doth lead me--Balak king of Moab; From mountains of the east: Come--curse for me Jacob, And come--be indignant with Israel. |
| DARBY | And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east: Come, curse me Jacob, and come, denounce Israel! |
| BBE | And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, From Aram Balak has sent for me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: come, put curses on Jacob for me and be angry with Israel. |
| Webster | 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 Jacob for me, and come, defy Israel. |
What does Numbers 23:7 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
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…
Numbers 23:7 in the original Hebrew
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Cross references for Numbers 23:7
- Numbers 24:3
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
- Numbers 22:5-6
He 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.
- Deuteronomy 23:4
Because 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.
- Numbers 23:18
And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
- Job 29:1
Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
- Psalms 78:2
I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
- Micah 2:4
In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.
- Numbers 24:15
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
- Numbers 24:23
And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
- Matthew 13:35
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
- Matthew 13:33
Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
- Mark 12:12
And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
18; 24:3,15,23; Job 27:1; 29:1; Ps 78:2; Eze 17:2; 20:49; Mic 2:4
Hab 2:6; Mt 13:33,35; Mr 12:12
parable.The word {mashal,} which as a verb is to rule, have authority, and also to compare, as a noun signifies whatever is expressed in parabolic or figurative language. All these oracular speeches of Balaam are in hemistich metre in the original. They are highly dignified and sublime; and may be considered as immediate poetic productions of the Spirit of God. (ch. 24:2.)
Aram.
22:5; Ge 10:22; 28:2,7; De 23:4
Come.
22:6,11,17; Pr 26:2
defy Israel.
1Sa 17:10,25,26,36,45; 2Sa 21:21; 23:9
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Numbers 23:6
And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.
- Numbers 23:7
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.
- Numbers 23:8
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?
Numbers 23:7 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y él tomó su parábola, y dijo: De Aram me trajo Balac, rey de Moab, de los montes del oriente: ven, maldíceme á Jacob; y ven, execra á Israel. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Et Balaam proféra son discours sentencieux, et dit: Balak, roi de Moab, m’a amené d’Aram, des montagnes d’orient: Viens, maudis-moi Jacob! viens, appelle l’exécration sur Israël! |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Da hob er seinen Spruch an und sprach: Aus Aram hat Balak mich hergeführt, der König von Moab von den Bergen des Ostens: Komm, verfluche mir Jakob; ja, komm, verwünsche Israel! |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | assumptaque parabola sua, dixit: De Aram adduxit me Balac rex Moabitarum, de montibus orientis: Veni, inquit, et maledic Jacob; propera, et detestare Israël. |