Numbers 23:7
New International Version
Then Balaam spoke his message: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’

New Living Translation
This was the message Balaam delivered: “Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel’s doom.’

English Standard Version
And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’

Berean Standard Bible
And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’

King James Bible
And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.

New King James Version
And he took up his oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’

New American Standard Bible
And he took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the East, saying, ‘Come, declare Jacob cursed for me, And come, curse Israel!’

NASB 1995
He took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the East, ‘Come curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’

NASB 1977
And he took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the East, ‘Come curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’

Legacy Standard Bible
Then he took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the East, ‘Come curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’

Amplified Bible
Balaam took up his [first] discourse (oracle) and said: “Balak, the king of Moab, has brought me from Aram (Syria), from the mountains of the east, [saying,] ‘Come, curse [the descendants of] Jacob for me; And come, [violently] denounce Israel.’

Christian Standard Bible
Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak brought me from Aram; the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains: “Come, put a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel! ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak brought me from Aram; the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains:” Come, put a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel!”

American Standard Version
And he took up his parable, and said, From Aram hath Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And he lifted up his proverb and said: “From Aram, from the mountains of the East, Balaq, the King of the Moabites, has led me and said to me: ‘Come curse Yaquuv for me and come destroy Israel for me.’

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And he took up his parable, and said, Balac king of Moab sent for me out of Mesopotamia, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and Come, call for a curse for me upon Israel.

Contemporary English Version
Balaam said: "King Balak of Moab brought me from the hills of Syria to curse Israel and announce its doom.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And taking up his parable, he said: Balac king of the Moabites hath brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east: Come, said he, and curse Jacob: make haste and detest Israel.

English Revised Version
And he took up his parable, and said, From Aram hath Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then Balaam delivered this message: "Balak brought me from Aram. The king of Moab summoned me from the eastern mountains. 'Come, curse Jacob for me,' he said. 'Come, condemn Israel.'

Good News Translation
Balaam uttered this prophecy: "Balak king of Moab has brought me From Syria, from the eastern mountains. 'Come speak for me,' he said. 'Put a curse on the people of Israel.'

International Standard Version
Then Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: "King Balak of Moab brought me from Aram, from the eastern mountains, and told me, 'Come and curse Jacob for me. Come and curse Israel.'

JPS Tanakh 1917
And he took up his parable, and said: From Aram Balak bringeth me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: 'Come, curse me Jacob, And come, execrate Israel.'

Literal Standard Version
And he takes up his allegory and says: “Balak king of Moab leads me from Aram; From mountains of the east. Come—curse Jacob for me, | And come—be indignant [with] Israel.

Majority Standard Bible
And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’

New American Bible
Then Balaam recited his poem: From Aram Balak has led me here, Moab’s king, from the mountains of Qedem: “Come, curse for me Jacob, come, denounce Israel.”

NET Bible
Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying, "Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, 'Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.'

New Revised Standard Version
Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying: “Balak has brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me; Come, denounce Israel!’

New Heart English Bible
He took up his parable, and said, "From Aram has Balak brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. 'Come, curse Jacob for me. Come, defy Israel.'

Webster's Bible Translation
And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, defy Israel.

World English Bible
He took up his parable, and said, “From Aram has Balak brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for me. Come, defy Israel.

Young's Literal Translation
And he taketh up his simile, and saith: 'From Aram he doth lead me -- Balak king of Moab; From mountains of the east: Come -- curse for me Jacob, And come -- be indignant with Israel.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Balaam's First Oracle
6So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab. 7And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’ 8How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced?…

Cross References
Numbers 22:5
he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. "Behold, a people has come out of Egypt," said Balak. "They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.

Numbers 22:6
So please come now and put a curse on this people, because they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land; for I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."

Numbers 23:6
So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab.

Deuteronomy 23:4
For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.

Job 29:1
And Job continued his discourse:


Treasury of Scripture

And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.

he took

Numbers 23:18
And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

Numbers 24:3,15,23
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: …

Job 27:1
Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,

parable.

Numbers 24:2
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.

Aram

Numbers 22:5
He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:

Genesis 10:22
The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

Genesis 28:2,7
Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother…

come

Numbers 22:6,11,17
Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed…

Proverbs 26:2
As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.

defy Israel

1 Samuel 17:10,25,26,36,45
And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together…

2 Samuel 21:21
And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.

2 Samuel 23:9
And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:

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Aram Balaam Balak Curse Curses Defy Denounce Discourse East Eastern Execrate Indignant Israel Jacob Lead Moab Moab's Mountains Oracle Parable Simile Uttered Words
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Numbers 23
1. Balak's sacrifices














Verse 7. - Took up his parable. מָשָׁל (cf. Numbers 21:27). Balaam's utterances were in the highest degree poetical, according to the antithetic form of the poetry of that day, which delighted in sustained parallelisms, in lofty figures, and in abrupt turns. The "mashal" of Balaam resembled the "burden" of the later prophets in this, that it was not a discourse uttered to men, but a thing revealed in him of which he had to deliver himself as best he might in such words as came to him. His inward eye was fixed on this revelation, and he gave utterance to it without consideration of those who heard. Aram, i.e., Aram-Naharaim, or Mesopotamia (cf. Genesis 29:1; Deuteronomy 23:4). Defy, or "threaten,' i.e., with the wrath of Heaven. Jacob. The use of this name as the poetical equivalent of Israel shows that Balaam was familiar with the story of the patriarch, and understood his relation to the people before him.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And Balaam lifted up
וַיִּשָּׂ֥א (way·yiś·śā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

an oracle,
מְשָׁל֖וֹ (mə·šā·lōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4912: A pithy maxim, a simile

saying:
וַיֹּאמַ֑ר (way·yō·mar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Balak
בָלָ֤ק (ḇā·lāq)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1111: Balak -- 'devastator', a Moabite king

brought
יַנְחֵ֨נִי (yan·ḥê·nî)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 5148: To guide, to transport

me from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

Aram,
אֲ֠רָם (’ă·rām)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 758: Aram -- Syria

the king
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Moab
מוֹאָב֙ (mō·w·’āḇ)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4124: Moab -- a son of Lot,also his descendants and the territory where they settled

from the mountains
מֵֽהַרְרֵי־ (mê·har·rê-)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2042: Hill, mountain

of the east.
קֶ֔דֶם (qe·ḏem)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6924: The front, of place, time

‘Come,’ he said,
לְכָה֙ (lə·ḵāh)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

‘put a curse
אָֽרָה־ (’ā·rāh-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 779: To execrate

on Jacob
יַעֲקֹ֔ב (ya·‘ă·qōḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3290: Jacob -- a son of Isaac, also his desc

for me;
לִּ֣י (lî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

come,
וּלְכָ֖ה (ū·lə·ḵāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

denounce
זֹעֲמָ֥ה (zō·‘ă·māh)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 2194: To foam at the mouth, to be enraged

Israel!’
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc


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OT Law: Numbers 23:7 He took up his parable and said (Nu Num.)
Numbers 23:6
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