Numbers 23:19
in Numbers 23God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and will he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good?
KJV
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
⋯
This verse in Numbers 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseGod is not a man, that he should lie - This seems to be spoken to correct the foregoing supposition of Balak that God could change his mind. Even the heathen would not allow that their supreme god could be caught in a falsity. Hence Aeschylus, in Prometh. vinct. 1068: - Ψευδηγορειν γαρ ουκ επισταται στομα Το Διον, αλλα παν επος τελει. “The mouth of Jove knows not to frame a lie; But every word finds full accomplishment.”
This site's exposition
Rise up, Balak, and hear
on Numbers 23:18-19
The line the chapter is known for comes out of the mouth of a man being paid to reverse it, and it answers Balak's whole method. Moving a prophet to a fresh hill assumes God can be worked on the way a man is worked on, and verse 19 says the assumption fails at the root. 1 Samuel 15:29 says the same of the Strength of Israel, while 15:11 and 15:35 in that same chapter say the Lord repented that he had set up Saul, and both sentences stand in the canon with readers holding them together in different ways. Malachi 3:6, Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18 carry the line forward.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Men change their minds, and therefore break their words; they lie, because they repent. He never changes his mind, and therefore never recalls his promise.
That he should lie - Break his promises made to his people for their preservation and benediction. Repent - Change his counsels or purposes; unless he see iniquity in Jacob.
God is not a man, that he should lie,....
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | [is] a human | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֵל֙ | ʾel | God | H410 → | 241 times |
| וִֽיכַזֵּ֔ב | vikhazev | so he may lie | H3576 → | |
| וּבֶן־ | uven- | and a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֖ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| וְיִתְנֶחָ֑ם | veyitnecham | so he may change his mind | H5162 → | |
| הַה֤וּא | hahu' | ¿ he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | has he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂ֔ה | yaaseh | will he act? | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וְדִבֶּ֖ר | vediber | and has he spoken? | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְקִימֶֽנָּה׃ | yekimenah | will he fulfill? it | H6965 → | 628 times |
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אִ֥ישׁ[is] a human
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֵל֙God
ʾelH410 →241 times
וִֽיכַזֵּ֔בso he may lie
vikhazevH3576 →
וּבֶן־and a son of
uven-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֖םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
וְיִתְנֶחָ֑םso he may change his mind
veyitnechamH5162 →
הַה֤וּא¿ he
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
אָמַר֙has he said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יַעֲשֶׂ֔הwill he act?
yaasehH6213 →2628 times
וְדִבֶּ֖רand has he spoken?
vediberH1696 →1141 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יְקִימֶֽנָּה׃will he fulfill? it
yekimenahH6965 →628 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
Malachi 3:6“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Lamentations 3:22–23
Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Hebrews 13:8
Through
James 1:17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
it leads to
- John 3:27
John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.
- Matthew 7:11
So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
- John 8:12
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- Psalms 84:11
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- John 3:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.