And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.
Parallel translations
- WEB God met Balaam, and he said to him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.”
- BSB and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”
- NKJV And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
- NASB Now God met with Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.”
- NLT and God met him there. Balaam said to him, “I have prepared seven altars and have sacrificed 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
God meets Balaam, who reports the seven altars and offerings he has prepared. Balaam presents his ritual as if to secure God's cooperation.
Overview
That God meets Balaam shows the Lord's initiative and control over the encounter. Balaam's recitation of his sacrifices reveals his hope that the ritual will sway God. But God's response will be entirely His own word, not a reward for Balaam's offerings.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Num 23:16And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
- Eph 2:9Not of works, lest any man should boast.
- Luke 18:12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
- John 16:2They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
- Rom 3:27Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
- Num 22:9And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
- Num 23:1And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.
- Num 22:20And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
- Isa 58:3–4Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
- Matt 20:12Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
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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 23:4 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.