Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, September 9th, 2025
the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Read the Bible

English Standard Version

Numbers 23:16

And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

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

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Camp, Encampments;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Balaam;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Balak;   Kibroth-Hattaavah;   Moab, Moabites;   Prophecy, Prophets;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Balaam;   Revelation;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The LORD met Bil`am, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.
King James Version
And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
Lexham English Bible
Then Yahweh met with Balaam, and he put a word in his mouth, and he said, "Return to Balak, and you must speak thus."
New Century Version
So the Lord came to Balaam and told him what to say. Then he said, "Go back to Balak and say such and such."
New English Translation
Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you."
Amplified Bible
Then the LORD met Balaam and put a speech in his mouth, and said, "Go back to Balak and you shall speak thus."
New American Standard Bible
Then the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth, and said, "Return to Balak, and this is what you shall speak."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Lord mette Balaam, and put an answere in his mouth, and sayd, Goe againe vnto Balak, and say thus.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Yahweh met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak."
Contemporary English Version
The Lord appeared to Balaam and gave him another message, then he told him to go and tell Balak.
Complete Jewish Bible
Adonai met Bil‘am, put a word in his mouth and said, "Go on back to Balak, and speak as I tell you."
Darby Translation
And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.
Easy-to-Read Version
So the Lord came to Balaam and told Balaam what to say. Then he told Balaam to go back to Balak and say these things.
George Lamsa Translation
And the LORD appeared to Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said to him, Go again to Balak and say thus.
Good News Translation
The Lord met Balaam, told him what to say, and sent him back to Balak to give him his message.
Christian Standard Bible®
The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then he said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.”
Literal Translation
And Jehovah met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, Return to Balak, and say this.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the LORDE mett Balaam, & put the worde in his mouth, & sayde: Go agayne vnto Balac, & saye on this wyse.
American Standard Version
And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.
Bible in Basic English
And the Lord came to Balaam, and put words in his mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and this is what you are to say.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the Lord met Balaam, and put a worde in his mouth, and sayd: Go agayne vnto Balac, and say thus.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.'
King James Version (1611)
And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and saide, Goe againe vnto Balak, and say thus.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And God met Balaam, and put a word into his mouth, and said, return to Balac, and thus shalt thou speak.
English Revised Version
And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.
Berean Standard Bible
And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, "Return to Balak and speak what I tell you."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne the Lord hadde `come to him, and hadde put `a word in his mouth, he seide, Turne ayen to Balach, and thou schalt seie these thingis to hym.
Young's Literal Translation
and Jehovah cometh unto Balaam, and setteth a word in his mouth, and saith, `Turn back unto Balak, and thus thou dost speak.'
Update Bible Version
And Yahweh met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again to Balak, and say thus.
World English Bible
Yahweh met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.
New King James Version
Then the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, "Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak."
New Living Translation
And the Lord met Balaam and gave him a message. Then he said, "Go back to Balak and give him my message."
New Life Bible
The Lord met Balaam and put words in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak. This is what you should say."
New Revised Standard
The Lord met Balaam, put a word into his mouth, and said, "Return to Balak, and this is what you shall say."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Yahweh met Balaam, and put a word into his mouth, - and said - Return unto Balak and thus shalt thou speak.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou say to him.
Revised Standard Version
And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, "Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak."
THE MESSAGE
God met with Balaam and gave him a message. He said, "Return to Balak and give him the message."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak."

Contextual Overview

13 And Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there." 14 And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam said to Balak, "Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there." 16 And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak." 17 And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, "What has the Lord spoken?" 18 And Balaam took up his discourse and said, "Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor: 19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? 20 Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. 21 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The Lord their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. 22 God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Numbers 23:5, Numbers 22:35, Numbers 24:1

Reciprocal: Exodus 3:18 - met Exodus 4:15 - and I Numbers 22:38 - the word Numbers 23:4 - God Deuteronomy 23:5 - Nevertheless 1 Kings 13:20 - the word of the Lord

Cross-References

Genesis 23:15
"My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead."
Genesis 43:21
And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man's money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us,
Exodus 30:13
Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord .
Job 28:15
It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
Jeremiah 32:9
"And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.
Ezekiel 45:12
The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
Zechariah 11:12
Then I said to them, "If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them." And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.
Matthew 7:12
"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Romans 13:8
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth,.... As he did before, Numbers 23:5.

and said, go again unto Balak, and say thus; the words which are expressed in Numbers 23:18.


 
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