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Read the Bible

The NET Bible®

Numbers 23:25

Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Thompson Chain Reference - Balaam;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Balaam;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Balak;   Kibroth-Hattaavah;   Moab, Moabites;   Prophecy, Prophets;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Balak said to Bil`am, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
King James Version
And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
Lexham English Bible
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them at all, nor bless them at all!"
English Standard Version
And Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all."
New Century Version
Then Balak said to Balaam, "You haven't cursed these people, so at least don't bless them!"
Amplified Bible
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"
New American Standard Bible
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!"
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Balak sayde vnto Balaam, Neither curse, nor blesse them at all.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!"
Contemporary English Version
Balak shouted, "If you're not going to curse Israel, then at least don't bless them."
Complete Jewish Bible
Balak said to Bil‘am, "Obviously, you won't curse them. But at least don't bless them!"
Darby Translation
And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Balak said to Balaam, "You didn't ask for good things to happen to these people, but you didn't ask for bad things to happen to them either!"
George Lamsa Translation
Then Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
Good News Translation
Then Balak said to Balaam, "You refuse to curse the people of Israel, but at least don't bless them!"
Christian Standard Bible®
Then Balak told Balaam, “Don’t curse them and don’t bless them!”
Literal Translation
And Balak said to Balaam, Do not curse it at all, nor bless it at all.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde Balac vnto Balaam: Thou shalt nether curse him ner blesse him.
American Standard Version
And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
Bible in Basic English
Then Balak said to Balaam, If you will not put a curse on them, at all events do not give them a blessing.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Balac sayde vnto Balaam: Neither curse them, nor blesse them at all.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.'
King James Version (1611)
And Balak said vnto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor blesse them at all.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Balac said to Balaam, Neither curse the people at all for me, nor bless them at all.
English Revised Version
And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
Berean Standard Bible
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Balach seide to Balaam, Nether curse thou, nether blesse thou hym.
Young's Literal Translation
And Balak saith unto Balaam, `Neither pierce it at all, nor bless it at all;'
Update Bible Version
And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
World English Bible
Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
New King James Version
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!"
New Living Translation
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Fine, but if you won't curse them, at least don't bless them!"
New Life Bible
Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them at all or pray that good would come to them!"
New Revised Standard
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Balak unto Balaam, Thou shalt neither revile, him, - nor bless him.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Balac said to Balaam: Neither curse, nor bless him.
Revised Standard Version
And Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all."
THE MESSAGE
Balak said to Balaam, "Well, if you can't curse them, at least don't bless them."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!"

Contextual Overview

13 Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there." 14 So Balak brought Balaam to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 And Balaam said to Balak, "Station yourself here by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there." 16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you." 17 When Balaam came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, "What has the Lord spoken?" 18 Balaam uttered his oracle, and said, "Rise up, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, son of Zippor: 19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a human being, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? 20 Indeed, I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. 21 He has not looked on iniquity in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; his acclamation as king is among them. 22 God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Psalms 2:1-3

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 9:28 - the charge

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Balak said unto Balaam, neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. Signifying that it would be as well or better to do nothing at all, than to do what he did; but the sense is not, that he would not have him curse them, that he could never say, since he had pressed it both before and after this; wherefore the words should be rendered, as they are by some p, "if in cursing thou dost not curse", or will not curse, "neither in blessing bless", or, however, do not bless: if he could not or would not curse Israel, he would not have him bless them on any account; if he could do him and his people no good in ridding them of their enemies, yet he desires him by no means to do them any harm by discouraging them and encouraging Israel.

p So Fagius, Vatablus; with which agree the Arabic version, and Noldius, p. 221. No. 1024.


 
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