Numbers 23:16 (LSB)

Passage

Then Yahweh met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”

Nearby Context

Numbers 23:14 So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Numbers 23:15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet Yahweh over there.”

Numbers 23:16 Then Yahweh met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”

Numbers 23:17 So he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?”

Numbers 23:18 Then he took up his discourse and said, “Arise, O Balak, and hear; Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And he said to Balak Stand here..." into verse 17's "So he came to him and behold...", so "yahweh" and "balaam" 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 "yahweh" and "balaam" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.