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Tuesday, August 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

Numbers 22:12

But God replied, "Don't go with Balak's messengers. I have blessed those people who have come from Egypt, so don't curse them."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God;   Thompson Chain Reference - Balaam;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Desert, Journey of Israel through the;   Moabites;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Midianites;   Moabites;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Balaam;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Moab;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Balaam;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Transjordan;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Balaam;   Balak;   Moab, Moabites;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Zippor ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Balak;   Midian;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Moab;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Hafṭarah;   Joshua, the Samaritan Book of;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
God said to Bil`am, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
King James Version
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
Lexham English Bible
God said to Balaam, "You will not go with them; you will not curse the people, because they are blessed."
English Standard Version
God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
New Century Version
But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. Don't put a curse on those people, because I have blessed them."
New English Translation
But God said to Balaam, "You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, for they are blessed."
Amplified Bible
God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people [of Israel], for they are blessed."
New American Standard Bible
But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And God said vnto Balaam, Go not thou with them, neither curse the people, for they are blessed.
Legacy Standard Bible
And God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
Complete Jewish Bible
God answered Bil‘am, "You are not to go with them; you are not to curse the people, because they are blessed."
Darby Translation
And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed.
Easy-to-Read Version
But God said to Balaam, "Don't go with them. You must not curse those people. They are my people."
George Lamsa Translation
And God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; and you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
Good News Translation
God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them, and do not put a curse on the people of Israel, because they have my blessing."
Christian Standard Bible®
Then God said to Balaam, “You are not to go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.”
Literal Translation
And God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for it is blessed.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But God sayde vnto Balaam: Go not with them, & curse not that people, for they are blessed.
American Standard Version
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed.
Bible in Basic English
And God said to Balaam, You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And God said vnto Balaam: Go not thou with them, neither curse the people: for they are blessed.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And God said unto Balaam: 'Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed.'
King James Version (1611)
And God saide vnto Balaam; Thou shalt not goe with them, thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them, neither shalt thou curse the people; for they are blessed.
English Revised Version
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
Berean Standard Bible
But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And God seide to Balaam, Nyle thou go with hem, nether curse thou the puple, for it is blessid.
Young's Literal Translation
and God saith unto Balaam, `Thou dost not go with them; thou dost not curse the people; for it [is] blessed.'
Update Bible Version
And God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
Webster's Bible Translation
And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they [are] blessed.
World English Bible
God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
New King James Version
And God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
New Living Translation
But God told Balaam, "Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!"
New Life Bible
God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. Do not curse the people, for I have decided that good would come to them."
New Revised Standard
God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them, - Thou shalt not curse the people, For blessed, he is.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And God said to Balaam: Thou shalt not go with them, nor shalt thou curse the people: because it is blessed.
Revised Standard Version
God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
THE MESSAGE
God said to Balaam, "Don't go with them. And don't curse the others—they are a blessed people."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."

Contextual Overview

1 Israel moved from there to the hills of Moab, where they camped across the Jordan River from the town of Jericho. 2When King Balak of Moab and his people heard how many Israelites there were and what they had done to the Amorites, he and the Moabites were terrified and panicked. 4 They said to the Midianite leaders, "That bunch of Israelites will wipe out everything in sight, like a bull eating grass in a field." So King Balak 5 sent a message to Balaam son of Beor who lived among his relatives in the town of Pethor near the Euphrates River. It said: I need your help. A huge group of people has come here from Egypt and settled near my territory. 6 They are too powerful for us to defeat, so would you come and place a curse on them? Maybe then we can run them off. I know that anyone you bless will be successful, but anyone you curse will fail. 7 The leaders of Moab and Midian left and took along money to pay Balaam for his work. When they got to his house, they gave him Balak's message. 8 "Spend the night here," Balaam replied, "and tomorrow I will tell you the Lord 's answer." So the officials stayed at his house. 9 During the night, God asked Balaam, "Who are these people at your house?" 10 "They are messengers from King Balak of Moab," Balaam answered. "He sent them 11 to ask me to go to Moab and place a curse on the people who have come there from Egypt. They have settled everywhere around him, and he wants to run them off."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Thou shalt: Numbers 22:20, Job 33:15-17, Matthew 27:19

thou shalt not curse: Numbers 22:19, Numbers 23:3, Numbers 23:13-15, Numbers 23:19, Numbers 23:23, Micah 6:5

for they: Numbers 23:20, Genesis 12:2, Genesis 22:16-18, Deuteronomy 23:5, Deuteronomy 33:29, Psalms 144:15, Psalms 146:5, Romans 4:6, Romans 4:7, Romans 11:29, Ephesians 1:3

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:29 - cursed Numbers 22:34 - if it displease thee Deuteronomy 1:11 - and bless you Joshua 24:10 - General 1 Samuel 17:43 - cursed Psalms 109:28 - Let them

Cross-References

Genesis 20:11
Abraham answered: I did it because I didn't think any of you respected God, and I was sure that someone would kill me to get my wife.
Genesis 22:2
The Lord said, "Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar."
Genesis 22:6
Abraham put the wood on Isaac's shoulder, but he carried the hot coals and the knife. As the two of them walked along,
Genesis 22:9
when they reached the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood.
Genesis 22:10
He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son.
Genesis 22:12
"Don't hurt the boy or harm him in any way!" the angel said. "Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son."
Genesis 22:13
Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son.
Genesis 22:24
Nahor also had another wife. Her name was Reumah, and she had four sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Genesis 26:5
because Abraham did everything I told him to do.
Genesis 42:18
before saying to them: Since I respect God, I'll give you a chance to save your lives.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And God said unto Balaam, thou shalt not go with them,.... Which is a denial of the first thing Balak requested, "come now, therefore", c. Numbers 22:6

thou shall not curse the people which was the principal thing desired, and in order to which he was solicited to go with the messengers; but this is absolutely forbidden:

for they are blessed; by the Lord himself, with an irrevocable blessing, and therefore it would be vain and fruitless, as well as dangerous for him to attempt to curse them, Genesis 12:3 this may have a special respect to the blessing of Jacob by Isaac, which could not be reversed by the solicitations of Esau, and which descended to Jacob's posterity, the Israelites, Genesis 27:33.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 22:12. Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people — That is, Thou shalt not go with them to curse the people. With them he might go, as we find he afterwards did by God's own command, but not to curse the people; this was wholly forbidden. Probably the command, Thou shalt not go, refers here to that time, viz., the first invitation: and in this sense it was most punctually obeyed by Balaam; see Numbers 22:13.


 
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