Lectionary Calendar
Friday, August 22nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Read the Bible

Brenton's Septuagint

Numbers 22:12

And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them, neither shalt thou curse the people; for they are blessed.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God;   Thompson Chain Reference - Balaam;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Desert, Journey of Israel through the;   Moabites;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Midianites;   Moabites;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Balaam;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Moab;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Balaam;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Transjordan;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Balaam;   Balak;   Moab, Moabites;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Zippor ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Balak;   Midian;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Moab;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Hafṭarah;   Joshua, the Samaritan Book of;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
God said to Bil`am, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
King James Version
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
Lexham English Bible
God said to Balaam, "You will not go with them; you will not curse the people, because they are blessed."
English Standard Version
God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
New Century Version
But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. Don't put a curse on those people, because I have blessed them."
New English Translation
But God said to Balaam, "You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, for they are blessed."
Amplified Bible
God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people [of Israel], for they are blessed."
New American Standard Bible
But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And God said vnto Balaam, Go not thou with them, neither curse the people, for they are blessed.
Legacy Standard Bible
And God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
Contemporary English Version
But God replied, "Don't go with Balak's messengers. I have blessed those people who have come from Egypt, so don't curse them."
Complete Jewish Bible
God answered Bil‘am, "You are not to go with them; you are not to curse the people, because they are blessed."
Darby Translation
And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed.
Easy-to-Read Version
But God said to Balaam, "Don't go with them. You must not curse those people. They are my people."
George Lamsa Translation
And God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; and you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
Good News Translation
God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them, and do not put a curse on the people of Israel, because they have my blessing."
Christian Standard Bible®
Then God said to Balaam, “You are not to go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.”
Literal Translation
And God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for it is blessed.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But God sayde vnto Balaam: Go not with them, & curse not that people, for they are blessed.
American Standard Version
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed.
Bible in Basic English
And God said to Balaam, You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And God said vnto Balaam: Go not thou with them, neither curse the people: for they are blessed.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And God said unto Balaam: 'Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed.'
King James Version (1611)
And God saide vnto Balaam; Thou shalt not goe with them, thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
English Revised Version
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
Berean Standard Bible
But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And God seide to Balaam, Nyle thou go with hem, nether curse thou the puple, for it is blessid.
Young's Literal Translation
and God saith unto Balaam, `Thou dost not go with them; thou dost not curse the people; for it [is] blessed.'
Update Bible Version
And God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
Webster's Bible Translation
And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they [are] blessed.
World English Bible
God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
New King James Version
And God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
New Living Translation
But God told Balaam, "Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!"
New Life Bible
God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. Do not curse the people, for I have decided that good would come to them."
New Revised Standard
God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them, - Thou shalt not curse the people, For blessed, he is.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And God said to Balaam: Thou shalt not go with them, nor shalt thou curse the people: because it is blessed.
Revised Standard Version
God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
THE MESSAGE
God said to Balaam, "Don't go with them. And don't curse the others—they are a blessed people."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."

Contextual Overview

1 And the children of Israel departed, and encamped on the west of Moab by Jordan toward Jericho. 2 And when Balac son of Sepphor saw all that Israel did to the Amorite, 3 then Moab feared the people exceedingly because they were many; and Moab was grieved before the face of the children of Israel. 4 And Moab said to the elders of Madiam, Now shall this assembly lick up all that are round about us, as a calf would lick up the green herbs of the field:—and Balac son of Sepphor was king of Moab at that time. 5 And he sent ambassadors to Balaam the son of Beor, to Phathura, which is on a river of the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, a people is come out of Egypt, and behold it has covered the face of the earth, and it has encamped close to me. 6 And now come, curse me this people, for it is stronger than we; if we may be able to smite some of them, and I will cast them out of the land: for I know that whomsoever thou dost bless, they are blessed, and whomsoever thou dost curse, they are cursed. 7 And the elders of Moab went, and the elders of Madiam, and their divining instruments were in their hands; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balac. 8 And he said to them, Tarry here the night, and I will answer you the things which the Lord shall say to me; and the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam, and said to him, Who are these men with thee? 10 And Balaam said to God, Balac son of Sepphor, king of Moab, sent them to me, saying,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Thou shalt: Numbers 22:20, Job 33:15-17, Matthew 27:19

thou shalt not curse: Numbers 22:19, Numbers 23:3, Numbers 23:13-15, Numbers 23:19, Numbers 23:23, Micah 6:5

for they: Numbers 23:20, Genesis 12:2, Genesis 22:16-18, Deuteronomy 23:5, Deuteronomy 33:29, Psalms 144:15, Psalms 146:5, Romans 4:6, Romans 4:7, Romans 11:29, Ephesians 1:3

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:29 - cursed Numbers 22:34 - if it displease thee Deuteronomy 1:11 - and bless you Joshua 24:10 - General 1 Samuel 17:43 - cursed Psalms 109:28 - Let them

Cross-References

Genesis 20:11
And Abraam said, Why I said, Surely there is not the worship of God in this place, and they will slay me because of my wife.
Genesis 22:2
And he said, Take thy son, the beloved one, whom thou hast loved—Isaac, and go into the high land, and offer him there for a whole-burnt-offering on one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Genesis 22:6
And Abraam took the wood of the whole-burnt-offering, and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took into his hands both the fire and the knife, and the two went together.
Genesis 22:8
And Abraam said, God will provide himself a sheep for a whole-burnt-offering, my son. And both having gone together,
Genesis 22:9
came to the place which God spoke of to him; and there Abraam built the altar, and laid the wood on it, and having bound the feet of Isaac his son together, he laid him on the altar upon the wood.
Genesis 22:10
And Abraam stretched forth his hand to take the knife to slay his son.
Genesis 22:12
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the child, neither do anything to him, for now I know that thou fearest God, and for my sake thou hast not spared thy beloved son.
Genesis 22:13
And Abraam lifted up his eyes and beheld, and lo! a ram caught by his horns in a plant of Sabec; and Abraam went and took the ram, and offered him up for a whole-burnt-offering in the place of Isaac his son.
Genesis 22:21
Uz the first-born, and Baux his brother, and Camuel the father of the Syrians, and Chazad, and
Genesis 22:22
Azav and Phaldes, and Jeldaph, and Bathuel, and Bathuel begot Rebecca;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And God said unto Balaam, thou shalt not go with them,.... Which is a denial of the first thing Balak requested, "come now, therefore", c. Numbers 22:6

thou shall not curse the people which was the principal thing desired, and in order to which he was solicited to go with the messengers; but this is absolutely forbidden:

for they are blessed; by the Lord himself, with an irrevocable blessing, and therefore it would be vain and fruitless, as well as dangerous for him to attempt to curse them, Genesis 12:3 this may have a special respect to the blessing of Jacob by Isaac, which could not be reversed by the solicitations of Esau, and which descended to Jacob's posterity, the Israelites, Genesis 27:33.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 22:12. Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people — That is, Thou shalt not go with them to curse the people. With them he might go, as we find he afterwards did by God's own command, but not to curse the people; this was wholly forbidden. Probably the command, Thou shalt not go, refers here to that time, viz., the first invitation: and in this sense it was most punctually obeyed by Balaam; see Numbers 22:13.


 
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