Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Then he spoke his message: “Alas! Who can live when God does this? New Living Translation Balaam concluded his messages by saying: “Alas, who can survive unless God has willed it? English Standard Version And he took up his discourse and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this? Berean Standard Bible Once more Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Ah, who can live unless God has ordained it? King James Bible And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! New King James Version Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall live when God does this? New American Standard Bible Then he took up his discourse and said, “Oh, who can live unless God has ordained it? NASB 1995 Then he took up his discourse and said, “Alas, who can live except God has ordained it? NASB 1977 And he took up his discourse and said, “Alas, who can live except God has ordained it? Legacy Standard Bible Then he took up his discourse and said, “Woe, who can live except when God has ordained it? Amplified Bible Then he took up his [seventh] discourse (oracle) and said: “Alas, who can live unless God has ordained it? Christian Standard Bible Once more he proclaimed his poem: Ah, who can live when God does this? Holman Christian Standard Bible Once more he proclaimed his poem: Ah, who can live when God does this? American Standard Version And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this? Contemporary English Version "No one can survive if God plans destruction. English Revised Version And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this? GOD'S WORD® Translation He delivered this message: "Oh no! Who will live when God decides to do this? Good News Translation Balaam uttered this prophecy: "Who are these people gathering in the north? International Standard Version Finally, he uttered this prophetic statement: "Ah, who can live, unless God makes it happen? Majority Standard Bible Once more Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: ?Ah, who can live unless God has ordained it? NET Bible Then he uttered this oracle: "O, who will survive when God does this! New Heart English Bible He took up his parable, and said, "Alas, who shall live when God does this? Webster's Bible Translation And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! World English Bible He took up his parable, and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this? Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionAnd he takes up his allegory and says: “Woe! Who lives when God does this? Young's Literal Translation And he taketh up his simile, and saith: 'Alas! who doth live when God doth this? Smith's Literal Translation And he will take up his parable, and say, Wo! who shall live, God doing this? Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleAnd taking up his parable, again he said: Alas, who shall live when God shall do these things? Catholic Public Domain Version And taking up his parable once more he said: “Alas! Who will be able to survive, when God will do these things? New American Bible Upon seeing [the Ishmaelites?] he recited his poem: Alas, who shall survive of Ishmael, New Revised Standard Version Again he uttered his oracle, saying: “Alas, who shall live when God does this? Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleAnd he took up his parable and said, Alas, who shall live when God does this! Peshitta Holy Bible Translated And he lifted his proverb and said: “Woe! Who shall live when God puts these down? OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917And he took up his parable, and said: Alas, who shall live after God hath appointed him? Brenton Septuagint Translation And he looked upon Og, and took up his parable and said, Oh, oh, who shall live, when God shall do these things? Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Balaam's Final Three Oracles…22Yet Kain will be destroyed when Asshur takes you captive.” 23Once more Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Ah, who can live unless God has ordained it? 24Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will perish forever.”… Cross References Isaiah 14:29-31 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg. / Then the firstborn of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root by famine, and your remnant will be slain. / Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there are no stragglers in its ranks. Jeremiah 48:40-47 For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab. / Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor. / Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD. ... Ezekiel 25:12-14 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt, / therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. / I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’ Obadiah 1:1-4 This is the vision of Obadiah: This is what the Lord GOD says about Edom—We have heard a message from the LORD; an envoy has been sent among the nations to say, “Rise up, and let us go to battle against her!”— / “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you will be deeply despised. / The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ ... Isaiah 34:5-8 When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction. / The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. / And the wild oxen will fall with them, the young bulls with the strong ones. Their land will be drenched with blood, and their soil will be soaked with fat. ... Jeremiah 49:7-22 Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed? / Turn and run! Lie low, O dwellers of Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him. / If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? Were thieves to come in the night, would they not steal only what they wanted? ... Amos 1:11-12 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly. / So I will send fire upon Teman to consume the citadels of Bozrah.” Isaiah 63:1-6 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.” / Why are Your clothes red, and Your garments like one who treads the winepress? / “I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained. ... Isaiah 21:11-12 This is the burden against Dumah: One calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” / The watchman replies, “Morning has come, but also the night. If you would inquire, then inquire. Come back yet again.” Isaiah 15:1-9 This is the burden against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night! / Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off. / In its streets they wear sackcloth; on the rooftops and in the public squares they all wail, falling down weeping. ... Isaiah 16:1-14 Send the tribute lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mount of Daughter Zion. / Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon: / “Give us counsel; render a decision. Shelter us at noonday with shade as dark as night. Hide the refugees; do not betray the one who flees. ... Isaiah 13:1-22 This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received: / Raise a banner on a barren hilltop; call aloud to them. Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles. / I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph. ... Isaiah 14:1-23 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob. / The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors. / On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced, ... Isaiah 47:1-15 “Go down and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O Daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called tender or delicate. / Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams. / Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.” ... Revelation 18:1-24 After this I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory. / And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast. / All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.” ... Treasury of Scripture And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God does this! Chittim Genesis 10:4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. Isaiah 23:1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. Daniel 7:19,20 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; … and shall afflict Eber Genesis 10:21-25 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born… Genesis 14:13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. Daniel 9:26,27 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined… and he also Daniel 2:35,45 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth… Daniel 7:23-26 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces… Daniel 11:45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. Jump to Previous Ah Alas Appointed Discourse Except Live Oracle Ordained Parable Simile Story UtteredJump to Next Ah Alas Appointed Discourse Except Live Oracle Ordained Parable Simile Story UtteredNumbers 24 1. Balaam, leaving divinations, prophesies the happiness of Israel10. Balak, in anger, dismisses him 15. He prophesies of the Star of Jacob, and the destruction of some nations Then Balaam uttered this oracle The phrase "Then Balaam uttered this oracle:" introduces a prophetic declaration from Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet. The Hebrew word for "oracle" is "מָשָׁל" (mashal), which can mean a proverb, parable, or a prophetic utterance. In the context of the ancient Near East, oracles were considered divine messages, often delivered by individuals believed to have a special connection with the divine. Balaam, though not an Israelite, is used by God to deliver His message, demonstrating that God’s sovereignty extends beyond the boundaries of Israel. This highlights the theme of God’s universal authority and His ability to use anyone to fulfill His purposes. Alas, who can live unless God has willed it? Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Once more [Balaam] lifted upוַיִּשָּׂ֥א (way·yiś·śā) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take an oracle, מְשָׁל֖וֹ (mə·šā·lōw) Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular Strong's 4912: A pithy maxim, a simile saying: וַיֹּאמַ֑ר (way·yō·mar) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 559: To utter, say “Ah, א֕וֹי (’ō·w) Interjection Strong's 188: Lamentation, Oh! who מִ֥י (mî) Interrogative Strong's 4310: Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffix can live יִחְיֶ֖ה (yiḥ·yeh) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 2421: To live, to revive unless God אֵֽל׃ (’êl) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 410: Strength -- as adjective, mighty, the Almighty has ordained it? מִשֻּׂמ֥וֹ (miś·śu·mōw) Preposition-m | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set Links Numbers 24:23 NIVNumbers 24:23 NLT Numbers 24:23 ESV Numbers 24:23 NASB Numbers 24:23 KJV Numbers 24:23 BibleApps.com Numbers 24:23 Biblia Paralela Numbers 24:23 Chinese Bible Numbers 24:23 French Bible Numbers 24:23 Catholic Bible OT Law: Numbers 24:23 He took up his parable and said (Nu Num.) |