Numbers 23:8 - Forerunner Commentary

Numbers 23:8

6 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.

7 And he ^atook up his oracle and said:
“Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram,
From the mountains of the east.
^b‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
And come, ^cdenounce Israel!’

8 “How^a shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?

9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him;
There! ^aA people dwelling alone,
^bNot reckoning itself among the nations.

10 “Who^a can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die ^bthe death of the righteous,
And let my end be like his!”

11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? ^aI took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”

12 So he answered and said, ^a“Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”

Verse Comparison: Numbers 23:8

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American Standard Version
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied?

Amplified® Bible
How can I curse those God has not cursed? Or how can I [violently] denounce those the Lord has not denounced?

Contemporary English Version
But I can't go against God! He did not curse or condemn Israel. *

Darby English Version
How shall I curse whom ùGod hath not cursed? or how shall I denounce whom Jehovah doth not denounce?

Good News Bible
How can I curse what God has not cursed, Or speak of doom when the LORD has not?

King James Version
How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?

New American Standard Bible
"How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

New International Version
How can I curse
those whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce
those whom the LORD has not denounced?

New King James Version
“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
" How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

Revised Standard Version
How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

Young's Literal Translation
What -- do I pierce? -- God hath not pierced! And what -- am I indignant? -- Jehovah hath not been indignant!

New English Translation
How¹ can I curse² one whom God has not cursed, or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?

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