Numbers 23:4 (ASV)

Passage

And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.

Nearby Context

Numbers 23:2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.

Numbers 23:3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go: peradventure Jehovah will come to meet me; and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare height.

Numbers 23:4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.

Numbers 23:5 And Jehovah put a word in Balaam`s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.

Numbers 23:6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he was standing by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "balaam", "said", "prepared", "seven", "altars", "offered", and "bullock". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "balaam" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And Balaam said unto Balak Stand by..." into verse 5's "And Jehovah put a word in Balaam...", so "balaam" and "said" 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 "balaam" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.