Numbers 23:5
in Numbers 23Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
KJV
And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
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This verse in Numbers 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe prophet Balaam, in Numbers, was sent forth by king Balak to curse Israel, with whom he was commencing war. But at the same moment he was filled with the spirit. Instead of the curse which he came to pronounce, he uttered the blessing which the spirit at that very hour inspired him with. This is he who had previously declared to the king's messengers, and then to the king himself, that he could only speak forth that which God should put into his mouth.
This site's exposition
I have set up seven altars
on Numbers 23:4-6
God met with him, and Balaam's first words are an inventory: on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram. Matthew Henry reads it as a man presenting a bill.
This site's exposition
Return to Balak and give him this message
John Gill separates the mouth from the heart in this verse. The LORD gave Balaam words to deliver so firmly that he could not forget them, and no grace to his heart.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); for the answer of the tongue if from the Lord, and thus he would show how much those are mistaken who say, With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are our own, Ps. xii. He that made man's mouth knows how to manage it, and to serve his own purposes by it. This speaks terror to daring sinners, that set their mouth against the heavens.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth.... Not grace into his heart, nor the fear of God within him, but suggested to him what to say; impressed it strongly on him, that he could not forget it, and with such power and weight, that he was obliged to deliver it: and said, return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak; that is, unto him, and what is expressed in Num 22:7.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֧שֶׂם | vaiyasem | and he put | H7760 → | 584 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| דָּבָ֖ר | davar | a word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| בְּפִ֣י | befi | in [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| בִלְעָ֑ם | vilam | Balaam | H1109 → | 61 times |
| וַיֹּ֛אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שׁ֥וּב | shuv | return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בָּלָ֖ק | balak | Balak | H1111 → | 43 times |
| וְכֹ֥ה | vekhoh | and thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| תְדַבֵּֽר׃ | tedaber | you will speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
וַיָּ֧שֶׂםand he put
vaiyasemH7760 →584 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
דָּבָ֖רa word
davarH1697 →1440 times
בְּפִ֣יin [the] mouth of
befiH6310 →498 times
בִלְעָ֑םBalaam
vilamH1109 →61 times
וַיֹּ֛אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שׁ֥וּבreturn
shuvH7725 →1056 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בָּלָ֖קBalak
balakH1111 →43 times
וְכֹ֥הand thus
vekhohH3541 →577 times
תְדַבֵּֽר׃you will speak
tedaberH1696 →1141 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
Isaiah 59:21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:31–34
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
- Hebrews 10:16
“This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their hearts and inscribe them on their minds.”
- Ezekiel 36:25–27
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Jeremiah 32:38–41
They will be My people, and I will be their God.
- Hebrews 8:6–13
Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises.
- Jeremiah 31:31–34
Through
Jeremiah 1:9Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
it leads to
- Luke 21:15
For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
- Exodus 4:11–12
And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
- Luke 12:12
For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”
- Luke 21:15
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and Tertullian, AGAINST MARCION 4.28.8.