Joshua 24:10

Jos 24:10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.

Ver. 10. Therefore he blessed you still] Though full sore against his mind, as loath to lose so fair a preferment; till at length he resolved to curse, whatever came of it, and therefore went not, as at other times, to his altar, but "set his face toward the wilderness." {Num 24:1-2} "Howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing," said that good Nehemiah. {Neh 13:2}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. I would not hearken unto Balaam] See Deu_23:5. Twice, across the whole length of the Assyrian desert, the messengers of Balak, with the Oriental bribes of divination in their hands, were sent to conjure forth the prophet from his distant home. Three times the altars were built and the victims slain, but each time the seer found himself unable to comply with the wishes of the king; he could not curse him whom God had not cursed, or defy him whom Jehovah had not defied.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But I would not hearken unto Balaam,.... Who was very solicitous to get leave of the Lord to curse Israel, which he knew he could not do without; he had a goodwill to it but could not accomplish it:

therefore he blessed you still; went on blessing Israel to the last, when Balak hoped every time he would have cursed them; and Balaam himself was very desirous of doing it; but could not, being overruled by the Lord, and under his restraint; which shows his power over evil spirits, and their agents:

so I delivered you out of his hands: both out of the hand of Balak, who was intimidated from bringing his forces against them, and out of the hand of Balaam, who was not suffered to curse them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I would not hearken unto Balaam, who hereby appears to have desired of God leave to curse Israel; and therefore it is not strange that God, who permitted him simply to go, was highly angry with him for going with so wicked an intent, Num 22:20,22,32.

Out of his hand, i.e. from Balak’s malicious design against you.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. I delivered you out of his hand — Balak’s hand. He designed to harm by Balaam’s curses; but God, in a manner wholly miraculous, and not in harmony with his usual dealings with free agents, interposed, and changed his imprecations to benedictions. This constrained act did not keep Balaam from suffering a violent death while acting with the Midianites against Israel. Num_31:8.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But I would not. The Hebrew shows that this is not simply the conditional form of the verb, but that it means I willed not. It was God"s "determinate purpose" that Israel should not be accursed. Blessed yon still . Rather, perhaps, blessed you emphatically. And I delivered you out of his hand. Both here and in the narrative in Numbers 22-30, it is implied that Balaam"s curse had power if he were permitted by God to pronounce it. Wicked as be was, he was regarded as a prophet of the Lord. There is not the slightest shadow of difference between the view of Balaam presented to us in this short paragraph and that in which he appears to us in the more expanded narrative of Moses.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unto Balaam - Who hereby appears to have desired of God leave to curse Israel; and therefore it is not strange, that God who permitted him simply to go, was highly angry with him for going with so wicked an intent, Num. xxii, 20, 22, 32. Delivered you - That is, from Balak's malicious design against you.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.