Numbers 23:26 (YLT)

Passage

and Balaam answereth and saith unto Balak, `Have I not spoken unto thee, saying, All that Jehovah speaketh--it I do?'

Nearby Context

Numbers 23:24 Lo, the people as a lioness riseth, And as a lion he lifteth himself up, He lieth not down till he eateth prey, And blood of pierced ones doth drink.'

Numbers 23:25 And Balak saith unto Balaam, `Neither pierce it at all, nor bless it at all;'

Numbers 23:26 and Balaam answereth and saith unto Balak, `Have I not spoken unto thee, saying, All that Jehovah speaketh--it I do?'

Numbers 23:27 And Balak saith unto Balaam, `Come, I pray thee, I take thee unto another place; it may be it is right in the eyes of God--to pierce it for me from thence.'

Numbers 23:28 And Balak taketh Balaam to the top of Peor, which is looking on the front of the wilderness,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "balaam", "answereth", "saith", "balak", "spoken", "thee", "saying", and "jehovah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "balaam" and "answereth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "And Balak saith unto Balaam Neither pierce..." into verse 27's "And Balak saith unto Balaam Come I...", so "balaam" and "answereth" 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 "balaam" and "answereth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.