Numbers 23:20 (YLT)

Passage

Lo, to bless I have received: Yea, He blesseth, and I <FI>can<Fi> not reverse it.

Nearby Context

Numbers 23:18 And he taketh up his simile, and saith: `Rise, Balak, and hear; Give ear unto me, son of Zippor!

Numbers 23:19 God <FI>is<Fi> not a man--and lieth, And a son of man--and repenteth! Hath He said--and doth He not do <FI>it<Fi> ? And spoken--and doth He not confirm it?

Numbers 23:20 Lo, to bless I have received: Yea, He blesseth, and I <FI>can<Fi> not reverse it.

Numbers 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, Nor hath He seen perverseness in Israel; Jehovah his God <FI>is<Fi> with him, And a shout of a king <FI>is<Fi> in him.

Numbers 23:22 God is bringing them out from Egypt, As the swiftness of a Reem is to him;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bless", "received", "blesseth", and "reverse". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bless" and "received", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "God FI is Fi not a man--and..." into verse 21's "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob...", so "bless" 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 "bless" and "received" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.