Numbers 22:12

THE MESSAGE

God said to Balaam, "Don't go with them. And don't curse the others—they are a blessed people."

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.

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."

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 The People of Israel marched on and camped on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho. ²Balak son of Zippor learned of all that Israel had done to the Amorites. The people of Moab were in a total panic because of Israel. There were so many of them! They were terrorized. ⁴Moab spoke to the leaders of Midian: "Look, this mob is going to clean us out—a bunch of crows picking a carcass clean." Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent emissaries to get Balaam son of Beor, who lived at Pethor on the banks of the Euphrates River, his homeland. Balak's emissaries said, "Look. A people has come up out of Egypt, and they're all over the place! And they're pressing hard on me. Come and curse them for me—they're too much for me. Maybe then I can beat them; we'll attack and drive them out of the country. You have a reputation: Those you bless stay blessed; those you curse stay cursed." The leaders of Moab and Midian were soon on their way, with the fee for the cursing tucked safely in their wallets. When they got to Balaam, they gave him Balak's message. "Stay here for the night," Balaam said. "In the morning I'll deliver the answer that God gives me." The Moabite nobles stayed with him. Then God came to Balaam. He asked, "So who are these men here with you?" Balaam answered, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent them with a message: ‘Look, the people that came up out of Egypt are all over the place! Come and curse them for me. Maybe then I'll be able to attack and drive them out of the country.'" God said to Balaam, "Don't go with them. And don't curse the others—they are a blessed people." The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak's nobles, "Go back home; God refuses to give me permission to go with you." So the Moabite nobles left, came back to Balak, and said, "Balaam wouldn't come with us." Balak sent another group of nobles, higher ranking and more distinguished. They came to Balaam and said, "Balak son of Zippor says, ‘Please, don't refuse to come to me. I will honor and reward you lavishly—anything you tell me to do, I'll do; I'll pay anything—only come and curse this people.'" Balaam answered Balak's servants: "Even if Balak gave me his house stuffed with silver and gold, I wouldn't be able to defy the orders of my God to do anything, whether big or little. But come along and stay with me tonight as the others did; I'll see what God will say to me this time." God came to Balaam that night and said, "Since these men have come all this way to see you, go ahead and go with them. But make sure you do absolutely nothing other than what I tell you." Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went off with the noblemen from Moab. As he was going, though, God's anger flared. The angel of God stood in the road to block his way. Balaam was riding his donkey, accompanied by his two servants. When the donkey saw the angel blocking the road and brandishing a sword, she veered off the road into the ditch. Balaam beat the donkey and got her back on the road. But as they were going through a vineyard, with a fence on either side, the donkey again saw God 's angel blocking the way and veered into the fence, crushing Balaam's foot against the fence. Balaam hit her again. God 's angel blocked the way yet again—a very narrow passage this time; there was no getting through on the right or left. Seeing the angel, Balaam's donkey sat down under him. Balaam lost his temper; he beat the donkey with his stick. Then God gave speech to the donkey. She said to Balaam: "What have I ever done to you that you have beat me these three times?" Balaam said, "Because you've been playing games with me! If I had a sword I would have killed you by now." The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your trusty donkey on whom you've ridden for years right up until now? Have I ever done anything like this to you before? Have I?" He said, "No." Then God helped Balaam see what was going on: He saw God 's angel blocking the way, brandishing a sword. Balaam fell to the ground, his face in the dirt. God 's angel said to him: "Why have you beaten your poor donkey these three times? I have come here to block your way because you're getting way ahead of yourself. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she hadn't, I would have killed you by this time, but not the donkey. I would have let her off." Balaam said to God 's angel, "I have sinned. I had no idea you were standing in the road blocking my way. If you don't like what I'm doing, I'll head back." But God 's angel said to Balaam, "Go ahead and go with them. But only say what I tell you to say—absolutely no other word." And so Balaam continued to go with Balak's nobles. When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him in the Moabite town that was on the banks of the Arnon, right on the boundary of his land. Balak said to Balaam, "Didn't I send an urgent message for help? Why didn't you come when I called? Do you think I can't pay you enough?" Balaam said to Balak, "Well, I'm here now. But I can't tell you just anything. I can speak only words that God gives me—no others." Balaam then accompanied Balak to Kiriath Huzoth (Street-Town). Balak slaughtered cattle and sheep for sacrifices and presented them to Balaam and the nobles who were with him. At daybreak Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal (The Heights of Baal) so that he could get a good view of some of the people. ⁶Balaam The People of Israel marched on and camped on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho. Balak son of Zippor learned of all that Israel had done to the Amorites. The people of Moab were in a total panic because of Israel. There were so many of them! They were terrorized. Moab spoke to the leaders of Midian: "Look, this mob is going to clean us out—a bunch of crows picking a carcass clean." Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent emissaries to get Balaam son of Beor, who lived at Pethor on the banks of the Euphrates River, his homeland. Balak's emissaries said, "Look. A people has come up out of Egypt, and they're all over the place! And they're pressing hard on me. Come and curse them for me—they're too much for me. Maybe then I can beat them; we'll attack and drive them out of the country. You have a reputation: Those you bless stay blessed; those you curse stay cursed." ⁷The leaders of Moab and Midian were soon on their way, with the fee for the cursing tucked safely in their wallets. When they got to Balaam, they gave him Balak's message. "Stay here for the night," Balaam said. "In the morning I'll deliver the answer that God gives me." The Moabite nobles stayed with him. ⁹ Then God came to Balaam. He asked, "So who are these men here with you?" ¹⁰Balaam answered, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent them with a message: ‘Look, the people that came up out of Egypt are all over the place! Come and curse them for me. Maybe then I'll be able to attack and drive them out of the country.'" ¹² God said to Balaam, "Don't go with them. And don't curse the others—they are a blessed people." ¹³ The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak's nobles, "Go back home; God refuses to give me permission to go with you." ¹⁴ So the Moabite nobles left, came back to Balak, and said, "Balaam wouldn't come with us."

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
Abraham said, "I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they'd kill me to get my wife. Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she's my father's daughter but not my mother's. When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father's home, I told her, ‘Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I'm your brother.'"

Genesis 22:2
He said, "Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I'll point out to you."

Genesis 22:6
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to Isaac his son to carry. He carried the flint and the knife. The two of them went off together.

Genesis 22:8
Abraham said, "Son, God will see to it that there's a sheep for the burnt offering." And they kept on walking together.

Genesis 22:9
They arrived at the place to which God had directed him. Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood. Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood. Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son.

Genesis 22:12
"Don't lay a hand on that boy! Don't touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn't hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me."

Genesis 22:13
Abraham looked up. He saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Genesis 22:24
His concubine, Reumah, gave him four more children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Genesis 42:18
On the third day, Joseph spoke to them. "Do this and you'll live. I'm a God-fearing man. If you're as honest as you say you are, one of your brothers will stay here in jail while the rest of you take the food back to your hungry families. But you have to bring your youngest brother back to me, confirming the truth of your speech—and not one of you will die." They agreed.

Exodus 20:20
Moses spoke to the people: "Don't be afraid. God has come to test you and instill a deep and reverent awe within you so that you won't sin."

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.