Numbers 23:20 (DRB)

Passage

I was brought to bless, the blessing I am not able to hinder.

Nearby Context

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

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor is the son of man, that he should be changed. Hath he said then, and will he not do? hath he spoken, and will he not fulfil?

Numbers 23:20 I was brought to bless, the blessing I am not able to hinder.

Numbers 23:21 There is no idol in Jacob, neither is there an image god to be seen in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the sound of the victory of the king in him.

Numbers 23:22 God hath brought him out of Egypt, whose strength is like to the rhinoceros.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "brought", "bless", "blessing", "able", and "hinder". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "brought" and "bless", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "God is not a man that he..." into verse 21's "There is no idol in Jacob neither...", so "brought" and "bless" 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 "brought" and "bless" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.