Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.”
- KJV And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
- BSB Now Balak said to Balaam, “Then neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”
- NASB Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!”
- NLT Then Balak said to Balaam, “Fine, but if you won’t curse them, at least don’t bless them!”
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
Balak, exasperated, tells Balaam neither to curse nor bless Israel. The king would rather have silence than more blessing.
Overview
Balak's frustration reveals that his plan has thoroughly collapsed. Unable to obtain a curse, he tries to at least stop the flow of blessing. His words show a man defeated by the relentless purpose of God to bless His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Ps 2:1–3Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
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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 23:25 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.