Numbers 23:8
How can I curse one whom God has not cursed, or how can I denounce one whom the LORD has not denounced?
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Referenced Verses
- Num 22:12 : 12 But God said to Balaam,“You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, for they are blessed.”
- Num 23:20 : 20 Indeed, I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
- Num 23:23 : 23 For there is no spell against Jacob, nor is there any divination against Israel. At this time it must be said of Jacob and of Israel,‘Look at what God has done!’
- Isa 44:25 : 25 who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers and humiliates the omen readers, who overturns the counsel of the wise men and makes their advice seem foolish,
- Isa 47:12-13 : 12 Persist in trusting your amulets and your many incantations, which you have faithfully recited since your youth! Maybe you will be successful– maybe you will scare away disaster. 13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. Let them take their stand– the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make monthly predictions– let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you!
Similar Verses (AI)
These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.
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7 Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying,“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying,‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’
- Num 22:5-73 verses82%
5 And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying,“Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are settling next to me.
6 So now, please come and curse this nation for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fee for divination in their hand. They came to Balaam and reported to him the words of Balak.
- Num 23:11-133 verses81%
11 Balaam Relocates Then Balak said to Balaam,“What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary you have only blessed them!”
12 Balaam replied,“Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?”
13 Balak said to him,“Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”
- Num 23:25-273 verses81%
25 Balaam Relocates Yet Again Balak said to Balaam,“Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”
26 But Balaam replied to Balak,“Did I not tell you,‘All that the LORD speaks, I must do’?”
27 Balak said to Balaam,“Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there.”
- Num 22:10-134 verses80%
10 Balaam said to God,“Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent a message to me, saying,
11 “Look, a nation has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out.”
12 But God said to Balaam,“You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, for they are blessed.”
13 So Balaam got up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak,“Go to your land, for the LORD has refused to permit me to go with you.”
- Num 22:16-183 verses78%
16 And they came to Balaam and said to him,“Thus says Balak son of Zippor:‘Please do not let anything hinder you from coming to me.
17 For I will honor you greatly, and whatever you tell me I will do. So come, put a curse on this nation for me.’”
18 Balaam replied to the servants of Balak,“Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the commandment of the LORD my God to do less or more.
- Num 23:16-205 verses77%
16 Then the LORD met Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said,“Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”
17 When Balaam came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him,“What has the LORD spoken?”
18 Balaam Prophesies Again Balaam uttered his oracle, and said,“Rise up, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, son of Zippor:
19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a human being, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen?
20 Indeed, I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
- Num 24:9-135 verses76%
9 They crouch and lie down like a lion, and as a lioness, who can stir him? Blessed is the one who blesses you, and cursed is the one who curses you!’”
10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam,“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless them these three times!
11 So now, go back where you came from! I said that I would greatly honor you, but now the LORD has stood in the way of your honor.”
12 Balaam said to Balak,“Did I not also tell your messengers whom you sent to me,
13 ‘If Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD to do either good or evil of my own will, but whatever the LORD tells me I must speak’?
- Deut 23:4-52 verses76%
4 for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you.
5 But the LORD your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed the curse to a blessing, for the LORD your God loves you.
- Josh 24:9-102 verses74%
9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, launched an attack against Israel. He summoned Balaam son of Beor to call down judgment on you.
10 I refused to respond to Balaam; he kept prophesying good things about you, and I rescued you from his power.
- 74%
9 For from the top of the rocks I see them; from the hills I watch them. Indeed, a nation that lives alone, and it will not be reckoned among the nations.
- 74%
2 for they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them.(Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.)
- Num 22:37-382 verses74%
37 Balak said to Balaam,“Did I not send again and again to you to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?”
38 Balaam said to Balak,“Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able to speak just anything? I must speak only the word that God puts in my mouth.”
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30 I have not even permitted my mouth to sin by asking for his life through a curse–
- 73%
10 But the king said,“What do we have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he curses because the LORD has said to him,‘Curse David!’, who can say to him,‘Why have you done this?’”
- 72%
28 They curse, but you will bless. When they attack, they will be humiliated, but your servant will rejoice.
- 72%
15 Moreover, you are to tell the Israelites,‘If any man curses his God he will bear responsibility for his sin,
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22 Surely those favored by the LORD will possess the land, but those rejected by him will be wiped out.
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28 “You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
- 71%
23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel!
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10 A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the LORD’s work! A curse on anyone who keeps from carrying out his destruction!
- 71%
1 Balaam Prophesies Yet Again When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at the other times to seek for omens, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
- 71%
25 Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them?
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5 Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said,“Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”
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3 I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, so that all the families of the earth may receive blessing through you.”