Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you. Have I now any power at all to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak.”
Parallel Translations
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Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you. Have I now any power at all to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak.”
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And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.
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And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Lo, I am come unto thee; have I now any power at all to speak any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.'
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Numbers 22:38 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 22:18 Balaam answered the servants of Balak, “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can’t go beyond the word of Yahweh my God, to do less or more.
- Proverbs 19:21 There are many plans in a man’s heart, but Yahweh’s counsel will prevail.
- Numbers 23:16 Yahweh met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and say this.”
- Numbers 23:26 But Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I tell you, saying, ‘All that Yahweh speaks, that I must do?’ ”
- Numbers 24:13 ‘If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can’t go beyond Yahweh’s word, to do either good or bad from my own mind. I will say what Yahweh says’?
- 1 Kings 22:14 Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that I will speak.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:13 Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, I will say what my God says.”
- Psalms 33:10 Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
- Psalms 76:10 Surely the wrath of man praises you. The survivors of your wrath are restrained.
- Isaiah 44:25 who frustrates the signs of the liars, and makes diviners mad; who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish;
- Isaiah 46:10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please.
- Isaiah 47:12 “Stand now with your enchantments and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth, as if you might profit, as if you might prevail.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (8 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Of myself I can speak nothing: only what God…
Of myself I can speak nothing: only what God revealeth, that will I utter, seem it good or bad.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Any thing, to wit, agreeable to thy expectation or…
Any thing, to wit, agreeable to thy expectation or my own inclination.
That shall I speak; I am forced to do so by his superior power, and therefore be not offended with me, if I speak things unpleasing to thee.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And it came to pass on the morrow,.... The…
And it came to pass on the morrow,.... The day after the arrival of Balaam at Balak's royal seat, and after the entertainment given him, and the princes, "on the morning" (y) of that day, as the word signifies; and perhaps early in the morning, the king eager to be about business, and get the people of Israel cursed if possible as soon as could be:
that Balak took Balaam and brought him up into the high places of Baal; where groves were planted, and altars erected to that "idol" and which the Targum of Jonathan calls the idol Peor, the same with Baalpeor, Num 25:3 which might be their god Chemosh, the same with Bacchus or Priapus:
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that thence he might see the utmost part of the people; the whole host of Israel, even to the extreme part of it; the camp of Dan, as the Targum of Jonathan, which brought up the rear; he had him to those high places, both that he might have a better view of the whole body of the people, and know how they lay, and to direct his curses at them, and that success might attend the undertaking, these being places of religious worship. Josephus says (z) those high places were sixty furlongs or seven and one half miles from the camp of Israel.
(y) in matutino, Montanus; mane, V. L. Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (z) Antiqu. l. 4. c. 6. sect. 4.
Next: Numbers Chapter 23
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 38. The word that God putteth in my…
Verse 38. The word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.] Here was a noble resolution, and he was certainly faithful to it: though he wished to please the king, and get wealth and honour, yet he would not displease God to realize even these bright prospects. Many who slander this poor semi-antinomian prophet, have not half his piety.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the word that God putteth in my mouth, that…
the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak--This appears a pious answer. It was an acknowledgment that he was restrained by a superior power.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 38. That shall I speak — With this reply…
38. That shall I speak — With this reply he sought, at the very outset, to soften down the expectations of Balak, inasmuch as he concluded at once that his coming was a proof of his willingness to curse. For the angel with his drawn sword was still before his eyes, and the miraculous words were sounding in his ears, and he dared not do otherwise than as he was commanded. It is a singular fact that we find the remainder of this interesting dialogue not in the Mosaic record but in the prophet Micah, Mic_6:5-8; Num_22:6-7, disclose the agony of the king, and Num_22:8 the lofty conceptions of the Gentile seer. This reply of Balaam breathes a spirit of righteousness as lofty as any utterance found in Mosaism.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Do I now have any power to say anything?
Do I now have any power to say anything?
Balaam uses this rhetorical question to tell Balak that he will not be able to do everything that Balak asks him to do. This can be translated as a statement. AT: "But I have no power to say anything I want" (See: Rhetorical Question)
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the words that God puts into my mouth
The message is spoken of as if it is something that God put into his mouth. AT: "the message that God wants me to say" (See: Metaphor)
Kiriath Huzoth
This is the name of a town. (See: How to Translate Names)
some meat
"some of the meat from the sacrifices"
translationWords
power
word
God
sacrifice
cow
ewe
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 22:38 Balaam’s reply reflected the lesson he had learned…
22:38 Balaam’s reply reflected the lesson he had learned in the donkey incident (cp. 22:20, 35).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.