Numbers 22:12

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."

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."

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.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them, neither shalt thou 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 Then the people of Isra'el traveled on and camped in the plains of Mo'av beyond the Yarden River, opposite Yericho. Haftarah Hukkat: Shof'tim (Judges) 11:1–33 B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Hukkat: Yochanan (John) 3:9–21; 4:3–30; 12:27–50 [In regular years read with Parashah 39, in leap years read separately] Now Balak the son of Tzippor saw all that Isra'el had done to the Emori. Mo'av was very afraid of the people, because there were so many of them; Mo'av was overcome with dread because of the people of Isra'el. So Mo'av said to the leaders of Midyan, "This horde will lick up everything around us, the way an ox licks up grass in the field." Balak the son of Tzippor was king of Mo'av at that time. He sent messengers to Bil‘am the son of B‘or, at P'tor by the [Euphrates] River in his native land, to tell him, "Listen, a people has come out of Egypt, spread over all the land and settled down next to me. Therefore, please come, and curse this people for me, because they are stronger than I am. Maybe I will be able to strike them down and drive them out of the land, for I know that whomever you bless is in fact blessed, and whomever you curse is in fact cursed." The leaders of Mo'av and Midyan left, taking with them the payment for divining, came to Bil‘am and spoke to him the words of Balak. He said to them, "Stay here tonight, and I will bring you back whatever answer Adonai tells me." So the princes of Mo'av stayed with Bil‘am. God came to Bil‘am and said, "Who are these men with you?" Bil‘am said to God, "Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av, has sent me this message: ‘The people who came out of Egypt have spread over the land; now, come and curse them for me; maybe I will be able to fight against them and drive them out.'" God answered Bil‘am, "You are not to go with them; you are not to curse the people, because they are blessed." (RY: v; LY: ii) Bil‘am got up in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, "Return to your own land, because Adonai refuses to give me permission to go with you." The princes of Mo'av got up, returned to Balak and said, "Bil‘am refuses to come with us." Balak again sent princes, more of them and of higher status than the first group. They went to Bil‘am and said to him, "Here is what Balak the son of Tzippor says: ‘Please don't let anything keep you from coming to me. I will reward you very well, and whatever you say to me I will do. So please come, and curse this people for me.'" Bil‘am answered the servants of Balak, "Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Adonai my God to do anything, great or small. Now, please, you too, stay here tonight; so that I may find out what else Adonai will say to me." God came to Bil‘am during the night and said to him, "If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you." (LY: iii) So Bil‘am got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Mo'av. But God's anger flared up because he went, and the angel of Adonai stationed himself on the path to bar his way. He was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. The donkey saw the angel of Adonai standing on the road, drawn sword in hand; so the donkey turned off the road into the field; and Bil‘am had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road. Then the angel of Adonai stood on the road where it became narrow as it passed among the vineyards and had stone walls on both sides. The donkey saw the angel of Adonai and pushed up against the wall, crushing Bil‘am's foot against the wall. So he beat it again. The angel of Adonai moved ahead and stood in a place so tight that there was no room to turn either right or left. Again the donkey saw the angel of Adonai and lay down under Bil‘am, which made him so angry that he hit the donkey with his stick. But Adonai enabled the donkey to speak, and it said to Bil‘am, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" Bil‘am said to the donkey, "It's because you've been making a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand; I would kill you on the spot!" The donkey said to Bil‘am, "I'm your donkey, right? You've ridden me all your life, right? Have I ever treated you like this before?" "No," he admitted. Then Adonai opened Bil‘am's eyes, so that he could see the angel of Adonai standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed his head and fell on his face. The angel of Adonai said to him, "Why did you hit your donkey three times like that? I have come out here to bar your way, because you are rushing to oppose me. The donkey saw me and turned aside these three times; and indeed, if she hadn't turned away from me, I would have killed you by now and saved it alive!" Bil‘am said to the angel of Adonai , "I have sinned. I didn't know that you were standing on the road to block me. Now, therefore, if what I am doing displeases you, I will go back." But the angel of Adonai said to Bil‘am, "No, go on with the men; but you are to say only what I tell you to say." So Bil‘am went along with the princes of Balak. When Balak heard that Bil‘am had come, he went out to meet him in the city of Mo'av at the Arnon border, in the farthest reaches of the territory. Balak said to Bil‘am, "I sent more than once to summon you! Why didn't you come to me? Did you think I couldn't pay you enough?" Bil‘am replied to Balak, "Here, I've come to you! But I have no power of my own to say anything. The word that God puts in my mouth is what I will say." (RY: vi, LY: iv) Bil‘am went with Balak. When they arrived at Kiryat-Hutzot, Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, then sent to Bil‘am and the princes with him. In the morning Balak took Bil‘am and brought him up to the high places of Ba‘al; from there he could see a portion of the people. ² Then the people of Isra'el traveled on and camped in the plains of Mo'av beyond the Yarden River, opposite Yericho. Haftarah Hukkat: Shof'tim (Judges) 11:1–33 B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Hukkat: Yochanan (John) 3:9–21; 4:3–30; 12:27–50 [In regular years read with Parashah 39, in leap years read separately] Now Balak the son of Tzippor saw all that Isra'el had done to the Emori. ³ Mo'av was very afraid of the people, because there were so many of them; Mo'av was overcome with dread because of the people of Isra'el. ⁴ So Mo'av said to the leaders of Midyan, "This horde will lick up everything around us, the way an ox licks up grass in the field." Balak the son of Tzippor was king of Mo'av at that time. ⁵ He sent messengers to Bil‘am the son of B‘or, at P'tor by the [Euphrates] River in his native land, to tell him, "Listen, a people has come out of Egypt, spread over all the land and settled down next to me. ⁶ Therefore, please come, and curse this people for me, because they are stronger than I am. Maybe I will be able to strike them down and drive them out of the land, for I know that whomever you bless is in fact blessed, and whomever you curse is in fact cursed." ⁷ The leaders of Mo'av and Midyan left, taking with them the payment for divining, came to Bil‘am and spoke to him the words of Balak. ⁸ He said to them, "Stay here tonight, and I will bring you back whatever answer Adonai tells me." So the princes of Mo'av stayed with Bil‘am. ⁹ God came to Bil‘am and said, "Who are these men with you?" ¹⁰ Bil‘am said to God, "Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av, has sent me this message:

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
Avraham replied, "It was because I thought, ‘There could not possibly be any fear of God in this place, so they will kill me in order to get my wife.'

Genesis 22:2
He said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitz'chak; and go to the land of Moriyah. There you are to offer him as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will point out to you."

Genesis 22:6
Avraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on Yitz'chak his son. Then he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and they both went on together.

Genesis 22:8
Avraham replied, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son"; and they both went on together.

Genesis 22:9
They came to the place God had told him about; and Avraham built the altar there, set the wood in order, bound Yitz'chak his son and laid him on the altar, on the wood.

Genesis 22:10
Then Avraham put out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.

Genesis 22:12
He said, "Don't lay your hand on the boy! Don't do anything to him! For now I know that you are a man who fears God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

Genesis 22:13
Avraham raised his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. Avraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.

Genesis 22:21
‘Utz his firstborn, Buz his brother, K'mu'el the father of Aram,

Genesis 22:22
Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Yidlaf and B'tu'el.

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.