Numbers 23:23 (DRB)

Passage

There is no soothsaying in Jacob, nor divination in Israel. In their times it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God hath wrought.

Nearby Context

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.

Numbers 23:23 There is no soothsaying in Jacob, nor divination in Israel. In their times it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God hath wrought.

Numbers 23:24 Behold the people shall rise up as a lioness, and shall lift itself up as a lion: it shall not lie down till it devour the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

Numbers 23:25 And Balac said to Balaam: Neither curse, nor bless him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "soothsaying", "jacob", "divination", "israel", "times", "shall", and "told". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "soothsaying" and "jacob", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "God hath brought him out of Egypt..." into verse 24's "Behold the people shall rise up as...", so "soothsaying" and "jacob" 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 "soothsaying" and "jacob" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.