So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Parallel translations
- WEB Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.
- KJV And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
- NKJV And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.
- NASB Balak did just as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.
- NLT So Balak did as Balaam ordered and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.
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 obediently follows Balaam's instructions and offers a bull and a ram on each of the seven altars. His compliance shows how desperate he is to see Israel cursed.
Overview
The Moabite king spares no effort, performing the full sacrificial procedure exactly as Balaam directs. Yet all this religious activity is powerless against the God who has determined to bless Israel. The scene sets up the great oracles of chapter 24, where God turns intended curses into some of the richest blessings and messianic prophecies in the Old Testament.
Cross-references & the web
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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 23:30 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
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