Numbers 23:20 (KJV)

Passage

Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

Nearby Context

Numbers 23:18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Numbers 23:20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

Numbers 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.

Numbers 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "behold", "received", "commandment", "bless", "hath", "blessed", and "reverse". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "behold" and "received", 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 "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob...", so "behold" and "received" 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 "behold" and "received" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.