Numbers 23:5 (YLT)

Passage

and Jehovah putteth a word in the mouth of Balaam, and saith, `Turn back unto Balak, and thus thou dost speak.'

Nearby Context

Numbers 23:3 and Balaam saith to Balak, `Station thyself by thy burnt-offering and I go on, it may be Jehovah doth come to meet me, and the thing which He sheweth me--I have declared to thee;' and he goeth <FI>to<Fi> a high place.

Numbers 23:4 And God cometh unto Balaam, and he saith unto Him, `The seven altars I have arranged, and I offer a bullock and a ram on the altar;'

Numbers 23:5 and Jehovah putteth a word in the mouth of Balaam, and saith, `Turn back unto Balak, and thus thou dost speak.'

Numbers 23:6 And he turneth back unto him, and lo, he is standing by his burnt-offering, he and all the princes of Moab.

Numbers 23:7 And he taketh up his simile, and saith: `From Aram he doth lead me--Balak king of Moab; From mountains of the east: Come--curse for me Jacob, And come--be indignant <FI>with<Fi> Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jehovah", "putteth", "word", "mouth", "balaam", "saith", "turn", and "back". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jehovah" and "putteth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And God cometh unto Balaam and he..." into verse 6's "And he turneth back unto him and...", so "jehovah" and "putteth" 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 "jehovah" and "putteth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.