“God is not a man, that He would lie, Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Parallel translations
- WEB God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?
- KJV God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
- BSB God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- NKJV “Godis not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
- NLT God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God is not a man that He should lie or change His mind; what He says, He does. His promises are utterly reliable.
Overview
This is a foundational statement of God's truthfulness and faithfulness: unlike humans, He does not deceive or break His word (1 Samuel 15:29; Titus 1:2). Because His character is unchanging, His blessing on Israel cannot be revoked by Balak's schemes. This same constancy guarantees every promise fulfilled in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20; Hebrews 6:17-18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Sam 15:29Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.”
- Jas 1:17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.
- Mal 3:6“For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
- Heb 6:18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.
- Titus 1:2in hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began;
- Luke 21:33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
- Rom 11:29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
- Hab 2:3For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hurries toward the end, and won’t prove false. Though it takes time, wait for it; because it will surely come. It won’t delay.
- Ps 89:35Once I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David.
- Hos 11:9I will not execute the fierceness of my anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One among you; and I will not come in wrath.
- Mic 7:20You will give truth to Jacob, and mercy to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
- 1 Chr 17:17This was a small thing in your eyes, God; but you have spoken of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have respected me according to the standard of a man of high degree, Yahweh God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 23:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.