וַיַּ֖עַן וַיֹּאמַ֑ר הֲלֹ֗א אֵת֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָשִׂ֤ים יְהוָה֙ בְּפִ֔י אֹת֥וֹ אֶשְׁמֹ֖ר לְדַבֵּֽר
He answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Yahweh puts in my mouth?
World English Bible · Public Domain
Numbers 23:12
Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) Numbers 23:12 appears in the Hebrew Old Testament. The text above is from the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Each word links to its Strong’s number, a concise gloss, and parsing drawn from the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible morphology. Click any word for its full Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) entry.
English Translation
He answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Yahweh puts in my mouth?
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Compare translations 3
The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.
Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.
Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.
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World English Bible Public Domain
He answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Yahweh puts in my mouth?
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King James Version Public Domain
And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
And he answered and said, “Is it not that which Yahweh puts in my mouth, it I must be careful to speak?”
unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).
Show all 18 translations
Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.
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World English Bible Public Domain
He answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Yahweh puts in my mouth?
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Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
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Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
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King James Version Public Domain
And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?
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American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah putteth in my mouth?
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Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD putteth in my mouth?
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Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
And he answered, and said, Must I not take heede to speake that, which the Lord hath put in my mouth?
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Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
He answered him: Call I speak any thing else but what the Lord commandeth?
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Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
and he answereth and saith, `That which Jehovah doth put in my mouth -- it do I not take heed to speak?'
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Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
and he answers and says, “That which YHWH puts in my mouth—do I not take heed to speak it?”
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Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
Balaam answered and said, “Should I not be careful to say only what Yahweh puts in my mouth?”
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
And he answered and said, “Is it not that which Yahweh puts in my mouth, it I must be careful to speak?”
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Darby Bible Public Domain
And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah puts in my mouth?
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World Messianic Bible Public Domain
He answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD puts in my mouth?”
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Webster's Bible Public Domain
And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?
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Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
But Balaam replied, “Don't you think I should say precisely what the Lord tells me?”
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Bible in Basic English Public Domain
And in answer he said, Am I not ordered to say only what the Lord puts into my mouth?
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JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
And he answered and said: 'Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD putteth in my mouth?'
Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).
Word by word
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וַיַּ֖עַן
ʻânâh
H6030
“and · to answer”
Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
- Appears 329× in the Hebrew Bible
- First appears at Genesis 18:27
- Part of Speech
- Conjunction + Verb
- Stem
- Qal
- Form
- Sequential Imperfect
- Person
- 3rd Person
- Gender
- Masculine
- Number
- Singular
Full BDB Definition
to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout
- (Qal)
- to answer, respond to
- to testify, respond as a witness
- (Niphal)
- to make answer
- to be answered, receive answer
- (Qal) to sing, utter tunefully
- (Qal) to dwell
- וַיַּ֖עַן ʻânâh H6030 “and · to answer” Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
- וַיֹּאמַ֑ר ʼâmar H559 “and · to say” Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
- הֲלֹ֗א lôʼ H3808 “not” Particle, Interrogative + Particle, Negative
- אֵת֩ ʼêth H853 “-” Particle, Direct Object
- אֲשֶׁ֨ר ʼăsher H834 “which” Particle, Relative
- יָשִׂ֤ים sûwm H7760 “to put” Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
- יְהוָה֙ Yᵉhôvâh H3068 “LORD” Noun, Proper
- בְּפִ֔י peh H6310 “in/at · mouth · my” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 1st Person, Common, Singular
- אֹת֥וֹ ʼêth H853 “- · him” Particle, Direct Object + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
- אֶשְׁמֹ֖ר shâmar H8104 “to keep” Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 1st Person, Common, Singular
- לְדַבֵּֽר dâbar H1696 “to speak” Preposition + Verb, Piel, Infinitive Construct
About this verse
These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →
- 11
- words
- 10
- distinct lemmas
- Pentateuch
- section
Grammatical profile
- 5 verbs
- 2 nouns
- 4 particles
Verb forms
- וַיַּ֖עַן Qal · Sequential Imperfect
- וַיֹּאמַ֑ר Qal · Sequential Imperfect
- יָשִׂ֤ים Qal · Imperfect
- אֶשְׁמֹ֖ר Qal · Imperfect
- לְדַבֵּֽר Piel · Infinitive Construct
Hebrew & Septuagint length
In English translation the verse runs 18 words from the Hebrew and 21 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.
A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.
Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.
In the original languages it is 11 Hebrew tokens and 18 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.
Cross-references
8Topical passages linked to Numbers 23:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.
- Numbers 22:38 Balaam said to Balak, Behold, I have come to you: have I now any power at all to speak anything? the word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak.
- Numbers 23:20 Behold, I have received [commandment] to bless: He has blessed, and I can't reverse it.
- Numbers 23:26 But Balaam answered Balak, Didn't I tell you, saying, All that Yahweh speaks, that I must do?
- Numbers 24:13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can't go beyond the word of Yahweh, to do either good or bad of my own mind; what Yahweh speaks, that will I speak?
- Proverbs 26:25 When his speech is charming, don't believe him; For there are seven abominations in his heart:
- Numbers 22:20 God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, If the men are come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak to you, that shall you do.
- Romans 16:18 For those who are such don't serve our Lord, Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the innocent.
- Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God, but by their works they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.
Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).
Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint
The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.
These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.
καί εἶπον βαλααμ πρός βαλακ οὐ ὅσος ἐάν ἐνβάλλω ὁ θεός εἰς ὁ στόμα ἐγώ οὗτος φυλάσσω λαλέω
And Balaam said to Balac, Whatsoever the Lord shall put into my mouth, shall I not take heed to speak this?
LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain
Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →
Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)
The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.
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Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)
וַאֲתֵיב וַאֲמַר הֲלָא יָת דִי יְשַׁוֵי יְיָ בְּפוּמִי יָתֵיהּ אֶטַר לְמַלָלָא
(no public-domain English translation for this verse)
Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
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Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)
וְאָתֵיב וַאֲמַר הֲלָא יַת מִן דִי שַׁוֵי יְיָ בְּפוּמִי יָתֵיהּ אַנְטַר לְמַלָלָא
But he answered and said, That which the Lord hath put in my mouth shall I not be careful to speak?
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Lesson kit
Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.
Numbers, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 11 words (10 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is ʻânâh (“to answer”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.
Discussion questions
- How does “to answer” (ʻânâh) shape what this verse is saying?
- Numbers 22:38 shares this passage’s theme. How do the two illuminate each other?
- These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
- The verb «וַיַּ֖עַן» is Qal Sequential Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
- Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Joseph Benson's Commentary read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?
Things to notice
- This verse counts 11 Hebrew ↔ 18 Greek words.
- These translations choose different wording for 7 words in this verse.
- 10 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 11 words in this verse.
Commentary
Notes on Numbers 23:12 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.
Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →
Trapp's Complete Commentary
John Trapp
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.
Joseph Benson's Commentary
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill's Exposition
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
Daniel D. Whedon
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.