Numbers 23:21 (ASV)

Passage

He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob; Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: Jehovah his God is with him, And the shout of a king is among them.

Nearby Context

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.

Numbers 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob; Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: Jehovah his God is with him, And the shout of a king is among them.

Numbers 23:22 God bringeth them forth out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox.

Numbers 23:23 Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel: Now shalt it be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hath", "beheld", "iniquity", "jacob", "neither", "seen", and "perverseness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hath" and "beheld", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Behold I have received commandment to bless..." into verse 22's "God bringeth them forth out of Egypt...", so "hath" and "beheld" 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 "hath" and "beheld" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.