Numbers 22:20

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

That night God came to Balaam and said, 'Since these men have come to summon you, go with them. But do only what I tell you.'

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיָּבֹ֨א אֱלֹהִ֥ים ׀ אֶל־בִּלְעָם֮ לַיְלָה֒ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ אִם־לִקְרֹ֤א לְךָ֙ בָּ֣אוּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֔ים ק֖וּם לֵ֣ךְ אִתָּ֑ם וְאַ֗ךְ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־אֲדַבֵּ֥ר אֵלֶ֖יךָ אֹת֥וֹ תַעֲשֶֽׂה׃

Transliteration

And yabo ʾElohim to-Bilʿam laylah and yomer to him, If-to liqroʾ you baʾu the-ʾanashim, qum lek with them; and ʾak ʾet-the-dabar which-ʾadabber to you ʾoto taʿaseh.

Grammar Details

• *yabo*: qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular with waw consecutive - and he came
• *ʾElohim*: masculine plural noun, divine name - God
• *Bilʿam*: proper noun - Balaam
• *laylah*: masculine singular noun - night
• *yomer*: qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular with waw consecutive - and he said
• *liqroʾ*: qal infinitive construct - to call
• *baʾu*: qal perfect 3rd person common plural - they came
• *ʾanashim*: masculine plural noun with definite article - the men
• *qum*: qal imperative masculine singular - arise
• *lek*: qal imperative masculine singular - go
• *ʾak*: adverb - only/but/surely
• *dabar*: masculine singular noun with definite article - the word/thing
• *ʾadabber*: piel imperfect 1st person singular - I will speak
• *ʾoto*: direct object marker with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - it
• *taʿaseh*: qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular - you will do

Word Meanings

• *ʾElohim*: God/gods
• *liqroʾ*: to call/to summon
• *ʾak*: only/however/surely/nevertheless
• *dabar*: word/thing/matter
• *ʾadabber*: I will speak/I will tell

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And 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.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, If the men come to call you, rise up, and go with them; but only the word which I shall say to you, that shall you do.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And 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.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And God{H430} came{H935} unto Balaam{H1109} at night,{H3915} and said{H559} unto him, If the men{H582} are come{H935} to call{H7121} thee, rise up,{H6965} go{H3212} with them; but{H389} only the word{H1697} which I speak{H1696} unto thee, that shalt thou do.{H6213}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And God{H430} came{H935}{(H8799)} unto Balaam{H1109} at night{H3915}, and said{H559}{(H8799)} unto him, If the men{H582} come{H935}{(H8804)} to call{H7121}{(H8800)} thee, rise up{H6965}{(H8798)}, and go{H3212}{(H8798)} with them; but yet{H389} the word{H1697} which I shall say{H1696}{(H8762)} unto thee, that shalt thou do{H6213}{(H8799)}.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  And God came to Balam by nyghte and sayed vnto him: Yf the men come to fett the ryse vppe and goo with them: but what I saye vnto the that onlye thou shalt doo.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Then came God to Balaam by night, & saide vnto him: Yf the men are come to call the, get the vp then, and go with the: but what I shal saye vnto the, that shalt thou do.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And God came vnto Balaam by night, and sayd vnto him, If the men come to call thee, rise vp, and goe with them: but onely what thing I say vnto thee, that shalt thou doe.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And God came vnto Balaam by night, and sayde vnto hym: If the men come to call thee, ryse vp and go with them: but loke what I say vnto thee, that shalt thou do.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And 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.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, If the men are come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak to you, that shall you do.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And God cometh in unto Balaam, by night, and saith to him, `If to call for thee the men have come, rise, go with them, and only the thing which I speak unto thee -- it thou dost do.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men are come to call thee, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak unto thee, that shalt thou do.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men are come to call thee, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak unto thee, that shalt thou do.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And that night God came to Balaam and said to him, If these men have come for you, go with them: but do only what I say to you.

• World English Bible (2000)

  God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak to you, that you shall do."

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  God came to Balaam that night, and said to him,“If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them, but the word that I will say to you, that you must do.”

Referenced Verses

• Num 23:26 : 26 But Balaam replied, 'Didn’t I tell you that I must do whatever the LORD says?'
• Num 24:13 : 13 'Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the command of the LORD, to do anything good or bad of my own will. What the LORD says, that I will speak.'
• Num 23:12 : 12 He answered, 'Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?'
• Num 22:35 : 35 The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, 'Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.' So Balaam went with Balak's officials.
• Num 23:5 : 5 The LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, 'Go back to Balak and speak this to him.'
• Num 23:16 : 16 The LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, 'Return to Balak and speak these words.'
• 1 Sam 8:5-9 : 5 They said to him, 'You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us, like all the other nations.' 6 But their request for a king displeased Samuel, and he prayed to the LORD. 7 The LORD said to Samuel, 'Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. It is not you they have rejected but they have rejected me as their king. 8 Just as they have done to me from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day—forsaking me and serving other gods—so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, listen to them, but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will demand.'
• 1 Sam 12:12-19 : 12 But when you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, came against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to reign over us,’ even though the LORD your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for. See, the LORD has set a king over you. 14 If you fear the LORD, serve Him, obey His voice, and do not rebel against His command, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. 15 But if you do not obey the LORD and rebel against His command, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your ancestors. 16 Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call out to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain. Then you will realize and see how great is the evil you have done in the eyes of the LORD by asking for a king. 18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. 19 The people all said to Samuel, 'Pray to the LORD your God for your servants, so that we will not die, for we have added this evil to all our sins by asking for a king.'
• Ps 33:10-11 : 10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations; He thwarts the plans of the peoples. 11 The Lord’s counsel stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.
• Ps 78:30-31 : 30 But while the food was still in their mouths, they were not yet free of their craving. 31 Then the anger of God rose against them, and He killed the strongest among them, striking down the young men of Israel.
• Ps 81:12 : 12 But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.
• Isa 37:29 : 29 Because of your raging against Me and your arrogance that has reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way you came.
• Ezek 14:2-5 : 2 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and placed the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I really let myself be consulted by them? 4 Therefore, speak to them and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Any man from the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face and then comes to the prophet—I, the LORD, will answer him myself in keeping with the multitude of his idols.' 5 So that I may seize the house of Israel by their hearts, because they have all turned away from me through their idols.
• Hos 13:11 : 11 I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath.
• 2 Thess 2:9-9 : 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the workings of Satan, with all kinds of power, false signs, and wonders, 10 and with every kind of deceit targeting those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion, so that they will believe the lie, 12 in order that all who did not believe the truth but delighted in wickedness might be judged.