Numbers 23:23 (GNV)

Passage

For there is no sorcerie in Iaakob, nor soothsaying in Israel: according to this time it shalbe sayde of Iaakob and of Israel, What hath God wrought?

Nearby Context

Numbers 23:21 Hee seeth none iniquitie in Iaakob, nor seeth no transgression in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the ioyfull shoute of a king is among them.

Numbers 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt: their strength is as an vnicorne.

Numbers 23:23 For there is no sorcerie in Iaakob, nor soothsaying in Israel: according to this time it shalbe sayde of Iaakob and of Israel, What hath God wrought?

Numbers 23:24 Behold, the people shall rise vp as a lyon, and lift vp himselfe as a yong lyon: hee shall not lye downe, till he eate of the pray, and till he drinke the blood of the slayne.

Numbers 23:25 Then Balak sayde vnto Balaam, Neither curse, nor blesse them at all.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sorcerie", "iaakob", "soothsaying", "israel", "time", "shalbe", and "sayde". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sorcerie" and "iaakob", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "God brought them out of Egypt their..." into verse 24's "Behold the people shall rise vp as...", so "sorcerie" and "iaakob" 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 "sorcerie" and "iaakob" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.