Numbers 23:5 (DRB)

Passage

And the Lord put the word in his mouth, and said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou speak.

Nearby Context

Numbers 23:3 And Balaam said to Balac: Stand a while by thy burnt offering, until I go, to see if perhaps the Lord will meet me, and whatsoever he shall command, I will speak to thee.

Numbers 23:4 And when he was gone with speed, God met him. And Balaam speaking to him, said: I have erected seven altars, and have laid on everyone a calf and a ram.

Numbers 23:5 And the Lord put the word in his mouth, and said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou speak.

Numbers 23:6 Returning he found Balac standing by his burnt offering, with all the princes of the Moabites:

Numbers 23:7 And taking up his parable, he said: Balac king of the Moabites hath brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east: Come, said he, and curse Jacob: make haste and detest Israel.

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 4's "And when he was gone with speed..." into verse 6's "Returning he found Balac 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.