The Meaning of Numbers 23:13 Explained

Numbers 23:13

KJV: And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.

YLT: And Balak saith unto him, 'Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, whence thou dost see it, only its extremity thou dost see, and all of it thou dost not see, and pierce it for me thence;'

Darby: And Balak said to him, Come, I pray thee, with me to another place, from whence thou wilt see them; thou shalt see only the extremity of them and shalt not see them all, and curse me them from thence.

ASV: And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them; thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Balak  said  unto him, Come,  I pray thee, with me unto another  place,  from whence thou mayest see  them: thou shalt see  but  the utmost  part of them, and shalt not see  them all: and curse  me them from thence. 

What does Numbers 23:13 Mean?

Context Summary

Numbers 23:13-30 - No Enchantment Against Israel
Balak was surprised and disappointed. He therefore bethought himself of limiting the seer's vision, so that he might see an attenuated Israel from a height that commanded only a partial view of the camp. How often we try to see only what we want to see! How often we shut our eyes to a rival's real merits! Instead of entering into God's great thoughts we shut ourselves up in a tiny limited world. We will not acknowledge what our pride does not want to acknowledge. We are like children building sand-castles against the tide. You had better bring your mind to harmonize with God's facts than minimize or evade their truth. You are hurting yourself, but can never alter them. Take God's way and be at peace!
Let us ponder Numbers 23:21 -it is as we are in God's purpose; and Numbers 23:23 -when faced by our enemies; and Numbers 23:24 -when most convinced of our helplessness. [source]

Chapter Summary: Numbers 23

1  Balak's sacrifices

What do the individual words in Numbers 23:13 mean?

And said to him Balak - come please - with me to place another where you may see them from there Only the outer part of them you shall see and them all not shall see and curse them for me from there
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֵלָ֜יו בָּלָ֗ק [לך־] (לְכָה־) נָּ֨א אִתִּ֜י אֶל־ מָק֤וֹם אַחֵר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּרְאֶ֣נּוּ מִשָּׁ֔ם אֶ֚פֶס קָצֵ֣הוּ תִרְאֶ֔ה וְכֻלּ֖וֹ לֹ֣א תִרְאֶ֑ה וְקָבְנוֹ־ לִ֖י מִשָּֽׁם

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלָ֜יו  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
בָּלָ֗ק  Balak 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּלָק  
Sense: a king of Moab who hired Balaam to curse Israel.
[לך־]  - 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
(לְכָה־)  come  please 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
נָּ֨א  - 
Parse:
אִתִּ֜י  with  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֵת 
Sense: with, near, together with.
מָק֤וֹם  place 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָקֹום  
Sense: standing place, place.
אַחֵר֙  another 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: אַחֵר  
Sense: another, other, following.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר  where 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
תִּרְאֶ֣נּוּ  you  may  see  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
מִשָּׁ֔ם  from  there 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
אֶ֚פֶס  Only  the  outer 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֶפֶס 
Sense: ceasing, end, finality.
קָצֵ֣הוּ  part  of  them 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קָצֶה 
Sense: end, extremity.
תִרְאֶ֔ה  you  shall  see 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
וְכֻלּ֖וֹ  and  them  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
תִרְאֶ֑ה  shall  see 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
וְקָבְנוֹ־  and  curse  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: קָבַב  
Sense: to curse, utter a curse against.
לִ֖י  for  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
מִשָּֽׁם  from  there 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.