Bible Strands
Numbers 22:35
But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you are to speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The angel of the LORD addresses Balaam immediately after Balaam’s confession in Numbers 22:34 and his offer to return home. This occurs at the precise moment Balaam prepares to travel with Balak’s princes to Moab.
The words — The imperative לֵ֚ךְ (lekh) commands "go" while עִם\־ הָ֣/אֲנָשִׁ֔ים ('im- ha./'a.na.Shim) specifies "with the men." These terms establish the conditional permission granted under strict limitation.
The thread — This restricted commission parallels God’s prior allowance in Numbers 22:20 and stands in contrast to the stubborn independence detailed in Psalms 81:12. The angel’s enforcement of divine speech aligns with the pattern of supernatural intervention noted in 2 Thessalonians 2:9.
Why it lands — The text demands submission to divinely dictated speech rather than personal agenda. It requires readers to recognize that access to powerful figures must remain bound by explicit divine instruction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Cross-references
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
- Numbers 22:20 That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.”
- Psalms 81:12 So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.
- Isaiah 37:26 Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.