Numbers 23:12 (DRB)

Passage

He answered him: Can I speak any thing else but what the Lord commandeth?

Nearby Context

Numbers 23:10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and know the number of the stock of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the just, and my last end be like to them.

Numbers 23:11 And Balac said to Balaam: What is this that thou dost? I sent for thee to curse my enemies: and thou contrariwise blessest them.

Numbers 23:12 He answered him: Can I speak any thing else but what the Lord commandeth?

Numbers 23:13 Balac therefore said: Come with me to another place from whence thou mayest see part of Israel, and canst not see them all: curse them from thence.

Numbers 23:14 And when he had brought him to a high place, upon the top of mount Phasga, Balaam built seven altars, and laying on every one a calf and a ram,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "answered", "speak", "else", "lord", and "commandeth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "answered" and "speak", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And Balac said to Balaam What is..." into verse 13's "Balac therefore said Come with me to...", so "answered" and "speak" 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 "answered" and "speak" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.