Numbers 23:18 (ASV)

Passage

And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

Nearby Context

Numbers 23:16 And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.

Numbers 23:17 And he came to him, and, lo, he was standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath Jehovah spoken?

Numbers 23:18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and will he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good?

Numbers 23:20 Behold, I have received [commandment] to bless: And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "took", "parable", "said", "rise", "balak", "hear", "hearken", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "took" and "parable", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And he came to him and lo..." into verse 19's "God is not a man that he...", so "took" and "parable" belong inside that flow. In Numbers context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "took" and "parable" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.