Numbers 23:7 (ASV)

Passage

And he took up his parable, and said, From Aram hath Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel.

Nearby Context

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.

Numbers 23:7 And he took up his parable, and said, From Aram hath Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel.

Numbers 23:8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied?

Numbers 23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "took", "parable", "said", "aram", "hath", "balak", "brought", and "king". 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 6's "And he returned unto him and lo..." into verse 8's "How shall I curse whom God hath...", 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.