12
And he answeredוַיַּעַןand said,וַיֹּאמַר“Must I notהֲלֹאtake careאֶשְׁמֹרto speakלְדַבֵּרwhatאֵת אֲשֶׁרYHWHיְהוָהputsיָשִׂיםin my mouth?”בְּפִי
Numbers 23:12
Study it in the app“And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what YHWH puts in my mouth?””
With the Hebrew beneath
Numbers 23:12, word by word
- And he answeredיַּעַןyaan
answer
To reply to what was said.
Where else “yaan” appears- and saidיֹּאמַרyomar
say
To say with the mouth to someone what one thinks or wants, or to answer him.
Where else “yomar” appears- take careאֶשְׁמֹרeshmor
take care
To watch out for oneself.
Where else “eshmor” appears- to speakדַבֵּרdaber
speak
To speak, say something; above all God to his people.
Where else “daber” appears- YHWHיְהוָהyehva
YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
Where else “yehva” appears- putsיָשִׂיםyasim
put
To put something somewhere.
Where else “yasim” appears- in my mouthפִfi
mouth
The part of the face with which one speaks, eats and kisses.
Where else “fi” appears
The context
11And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless them!”
12 · This verse (above)
13And Balak said to him, “Come, please, with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the edge of them and shall not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.”