Numbers 23:16 (DRB)

Passage

And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou say to him.

Nearby Context

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,

Numbers 23:15 He said to Balac: Stand here by thy burnt offering while I go to meet him.

Numbers 23:16 And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou say to him.

Numbers 23:17 Returning he found him standing by his burnt sacrifice, and the princes of the Moabites with him. And Balac said to him: What hath the Lord spoken?

Numbers 23:18 But he taking up his parable, said: Stand, O Balac, and give ear: hear, thou son of Sephor:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "word", "mouth", "said", "return", "balac", "thus", and "shalt". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "word", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "He said to Balac Stand here by..." into verse 17's "Returning he found him standing by his...", so "lord" and "word" 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 "lord" and "word" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.