Numbers 22:14
in Numbers 22And the princes of Moab arose, returned to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
KJV
And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
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This verse in Numbers 22
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBalaam refuseth to come with us - “Observe,” says Mr. Ainsworth, “Satan’s practice against God’s word, seeking to lessen the same, and that from hand to hand, till he bring it to naught.
This site's exposition
the Lord refuseth to give me leave
on Numbers 22:13-14
What God said was that Israel is blessed, and what Balaam reports to the princes is that permission was withheld from him personally. That version leaves a door open for a better offer, since a man denied leave may be granted it later. The princes shorten it again for Balak, Balaam refuseth to come with us, so by the time the news reaches the king the refusal belongs to the man.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), intimating that he only wanted more courtship and higher proffers; but they are not willing Balak should know that God had signified his disallowance of the attempt. Thus are great men wretchedly abused by the flatteries of those about them, who do all they can to prevent their seeing their own faults and follies.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the princes of Moab rose up,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
His real character has long been a subject of discussion. Some, judging from his language, have thought him a saint; others, looking to his conduct, have described him as an irreligious charlatan; and a third class consider him a novice in the faith, who had a fear of God, but who had not acquired power over his passions [HENGSTENBERG].
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The permission granted to Balaam is in accordance with the ordinary procedure of Providence. God often gives up men to follow the impulse of their own lusts; but there is no approval in thus leaving them to act at the prompting of their own wicked hearts (Jos 13:27).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
הלוך עמנו, for we do not appear as men of substance in his eyes.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
[AND BALAAM ROSE UP IN THE MORNING, AND SAID] UNTO THE PRINCES OF BALAK. According to the opinion of Rashi. Above, in Verse. the elders of Midian had left [Balaam] when he told them, Lodge here this night. Verse.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּק֙וּמוּ֙ | vaiyakumu | and they arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| שָׂרֵ֣י | sarei | [the] leaders of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ | vaiyavou | and they went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בָּלָ֑ק | balak | Balak | H1111 → | 43 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֵאֵ֥ן | meen | he has refused | H3985 → | 41 times |
| בִּלְעָ֖ם | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | 61 times |
| הֲלֹ֥ךְ | halokh | to come | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עִמָּֽנוּ׃ | ʾimanu | with us | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וַיָּק֙וּמוּ֙and they arose
vaiyakumuH6965 →628 times
שָׂרֵ֣י[the] leaders of
sareiH8269 →421 times
מוֹאָ֔בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
וַיָּבֹ֖אוּand they went
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בָּלָ֑קBalak
balakH1111 →43 times
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
מֵאֵ֥ןhe has refused
meenH3985 →41 times
בִּלְעָ֖םBalaam
bilamH1109 →61 times
הֲלֹ֥ךְto come
halokhH1980 →1546 times
עִמָּֽנוּ׃with us
ʾimanuH5973 →1050 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
6 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
Numbers 22:37And he said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why did you not come to me? Am I really not able to richly reward you?”
it leads to
- Numbers 24:11
Therefore, flee at once to your home! I said I would richly reward you, but instead the LORD has denied your reward.”
- John 5:44
How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- Matthew 4:8–9
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
- Luke 4:6
“I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,” he said. “For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish.
- Numbers 22:16–17
They came to Balaam and said, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me,
- Numbers 24:11
Through
Numbers 22:13So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your homeland, because the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 23:5
Yet 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.
- Deuteronomy 23:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonWildernessBalakKing of Moab who hired Balaam against the camp on his border and got four blessings and a prophecy of his own destroyer for his fe…
- PlaceTransjordanMoabThe high country east of the Dead Sea, home of Lot's descendants, where Balak hired Balaam, where Ruth was born, and where Moses l…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.