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Numbers 22:29

in Numbers 22

Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in my hand, for now I had killed thee.

KJV

And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.

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This verse in Numbers 22

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Balaam said - Balaam was not much terrified with the ass's speaking, because perhaps he was accustomed to converse with evil spirits, who appeared to him and discoursed with him in the shape of such creatures. Perhaps he was so blinded by passion, that he did not consider the strangeness of the thing.

This site's exposition

the Lord opened the mouth of the ass

on Numbers 22:28-30

The Lord opens her mouth and she asks a question instead of carrying a message, what have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times. Balaam argues back and wishes for a sword to kill her with, and the sword he wants is already drawn in the hand he cannot see. He offers no remark at all on the fact that his animal is speaking, and she is the second speaking animal in Scripture after the serpent of Genesis 3. 2 Peter 2:16 reads the scene as the dumb ass speaking with man's voice, forbidding the madness of the prophet.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And Balaam said unto the ass, because thou hast mocked me,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Such was the madness of this false prophet. Here bishop Hall observes, It is ill falling into the hands of those whom the brute-creatures find unmerciful; for a good man regardeth the life of his beast. [2.] The ass reasoned with him,

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • בִּלְעָם֙Balaam

    bilamH1109 →61 times

  • לָֽאָת֔וֹןto the donkey

    laatonH860 →34 times

  • כִּ֥יthat

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • הִתְעַלַּ֖לְתְּyou have dealt wantonly

    hitalaltH5953 →

  • בִּ֑יwith <the> me

    bi

  • ל֤וּif

    luH3863 →22 times

  • יֶשׁ־there

    yesh-H3426 →140 times

  • חֶ֙רֶב֙[were] a sword

    cherevH2719 →413 times

  • בְּיָדִ֔יin hand my

    beyadiH3027 →1618 times

  • כִּ֥יthat

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • עַתָּ֖הnow

    ʾatahH6258 →433 times

  • הֲרַגְתִּֽיךְ׃I killed you

    haragtikhH2026 →167 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

6 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Proverbs 12:10A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are only cruelty.7 worksProverbs 12:16A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.3 worksMatthew 15:19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.3 worksGenesis 30:34“Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”3 worksEcclesiastes 9:3This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.2 worksMatthew 2:16When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Matthew 15:19

    For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 17:9

      The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Mark 7:21–23

      For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

    • Galatians 5:19–21

      The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;

    • James 1:13–15

      When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.

    • Titus 3:2–6

      to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.

  • Through

    Proverbs 12:10

    A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are only cruelty.

    it leads to

  • Through

    Proverbs 12:16

    A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 29:11

      A fool vents all his anger, but a wise man holds it back.

    • James 1:19

      My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

Where this verse is studied

About Numbers

An Angel Appears to Balaam — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
An Angel Appears to Balaam — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Numbers: the study guide →Read Numbers 22 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Numbers 22 →