Bible Strands
Numbers 24:13
that even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD? I must speak whatever the LORD says.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Balaam speaks to Balak after a second summons, just before departing to return to his people. The words — The Hebrew אִם (ʾim, "if") and לֹא (lōʾ, "not") establish a conditional negation that frames Balaam's refusal to act on his own authority. The thread — This claim of constrained speech mirrors the refusal in Numbers 22:18 and aligns with Moses' declaration of divine commission in Numbers 16:28, while standing in tension with the conditional permission in Numbers 22:20. Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept that prophetic speech is bound strictly to the speaker must deliver only what God commands, regardless of wealth or pressure.
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
If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak?
Cross-references
- Numbers 16:28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing:
- Numbers 22:18 But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command of the LORD my God.
- 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.”