Deuteronomy 23:5
in Deuteronomy 23Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Nevertheless Jehovah thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but Jehovah thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because Jehovah thy God loved thee.
KJV
Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 23
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter
on Deuteronomy 23:3-6
The charge against Moab and Ammon is two things done on the road out of Egypt, no bread and water offered and Balaam hired to curse, which Numbers 22 to 24 tells at length. Verse 5 says the Lord turned the curse into a blessing because he loved thee, and Nehemiah 13:1-2 quotes that whole charge back, the turned curse included, on the day the book of Moses is read aloud in Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 2:29 says the Moabites who dwelt in Ar sold Israel food on that same road, both verses stand in the book, and Keil reads the charge here as the conduct of the nation rather than of every man in it. Ruth the Moabitess is the case a reader sets against verse 3, since Ruth 4:17 makes her the great-grandmother of David and Matthew 1:5 names her in the line of Christ, and the readings offered are that the law bars naturalization rather than marriage, which is where Barnes lands, or that the Hebrew is masculine and reaches the men of Moab only, or that Ruth came in as a proselyte.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), not only changing the word in Balaam's mouth, but making that really turn to the honour and advantage of Israel which was designed for their ruin. But though the design was defeated, and overruled for good, the Moabites' wickedness was not the less provoking. God will deal with sinners, but according to their endeavours, Ps. xxviii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Nevertheless, the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam,....
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָבָ֞ה | ʾavah | he was willing | H14 → | 54 times |
| יְהוָ֤ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לִשְׁמֹ֣עַ | lishmoa' | to listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בִּלְעָ֔ם | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | |
| וַיַּהֲפֹךְ֩ | vaiyahafokh | and he turned | H2015 → | |
| יְהוָ֨ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֧יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְּךָ֛ | lekha | for <the> you | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַקְּלָלָ֖ה | hakelalah | the curse | H7045 → | 33 times |
| לִבְרָכָ֑ה | livrakhah | into blessing | H1293 → | 69 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲהֵֽבְךָ֖ | ʾahevekha | he loved you | H157 → | 211 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
אָבָ֞הhe was willing
ʾavahH14 →54 times
יְהוָ֤הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙God your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
לִשְׁמֹ֣עַto listen
lishmoa'H8085 →1159 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בִּלְעָ֔םBalaam
bilamH1109 →
וַיַּהֲפֹךְ֩and he turned
vaiyahafokhH2015 →
יְהוָ֨הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֧יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
לְּךָ֛for <the> you
lekha
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַקְּלָלָ֖הthe curse
hakelalahH7045 →33 times
לִבְרָכָ֑הinto blessing
livrakhahH1293 →69 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲהֵֽבְךָ֖he loved you
ʾahevekhaH157 →211 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃God your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
it leads to
- Psalms 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- 1 John 4:4
You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- Isaiah 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the…
- Psalms 118:6
Through
2 Corinthians 4:17For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
it leads to
- Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.
- 1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish…
- Romans 5:3–5
Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
- Romans 8:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.