And God said to Balaam : Thou shalt not go with them, nor shalt thou curse the people: because it is blessed.

and God saith unto Balaam, 'Thou dost not go with them; thou dost not curse the people; for it is blessed.'

And God said to Balaam, You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing.

Et dixit Deus ad Balaam, Ne eas cum illis, neque maledicas populo qui benedictus est.

Thou shalt not go with them. If there were any room for doubt, God peremptorily removes it, and confirms the prohibition; because it was unlawful to curse, those whom He had blessed. For nothing more is permitted to prophets than that they should be the witnesses, or ambassadors (internuntii,) or heralds of the grace which God freely deigns to bestow at His own pleasure upon whom He will. Moreover, God is said to bless those whom He has embraced with His favor, and to whom He experimentally declares Himself to be propitious, when He displays His liberality towards them. Of this blessing He willed that the prophets should be His ministers in such a manner that the power should still remain altogether in His own hands. If, therefore, they usurp to themselves the prerogative of blessing without His commission, their act is not merely frivolous and inefficacious, but even blasphemous. Justly, then, does Ezekiel convict of falsehood and deception those false prophets, who, by their flatteries, encourage the souls which were doomed to die; whilst they slay by their terrors and threats those to whom God had promised life. (Ezekiel 13:2 and 22.) Hence we gather, how vain it is for hypocrites, as they are wont to do, to purchase pardon from men in order to propitiate God; and also that we need not be afraid of those degenerate ministers, who desire to domineer tyrannically in virtue of their office, although they launch their fulminations against the innocent. It is plain, however, that Balaam's obedience to God's command does not proceed from the heart. His words, indeed, might deceive the simple, from their appearance of humility; "I will not go, because God forbids it; "but there is no doubt but that, led as he was to gratify them by ambition and by avarice, he indicates that he would be disposed to undertake the journey, unless he were forbidden by God. If his heart had been sincere, the honest reply he should have given was obvious, viz., that it was vain to send either for himself or any one else, in order that Balak might resist the inviolable decree of God. If he had thus heartily and unequivocally given glory to God, another embassy would not have been sent to him; but by his faltering excuse he appeared to inflame the desire of the foolish king, in order to sell his curse at a higher price; for we know that this is the usual way with impostors, that they obtain higher pay for themselves in proportion to the difficulty of the matter. Still, however, if we compare the mercenary prophets of the Pope with Balaam, his servile and enforced submission will deserve no little praise by the side of their detestable and indomitable folly, who, in despite of God, hesitate not to burst forth in impious curses. The truth, which they oppugn, is conspicuous: that terrible judgment, which (God) denounces by the mouth of Isaiah, rings in their ears, "Woe unto them that put darkness for light, and light for darkness," (Isaiah 5:20;) nevertheless they proceed, and in their brutal madness vomit forth their blasphemies not only to the destruction of the Church, but, if it were possible, to the extinction of all religion.

Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people - That is, Thou shalt not go with them to curse the people. With them he might go, as we find he afterwards did by God's own command, but not to curse the people; this was wholly forbidden. Probably the command, Thou shalt not go, refers here to that time, viz., the first invitation: and in this sense it was most punctually obeyed by Balaam; see Numbers 22:13.

And God (f) said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they [are] blessed.
(f) He warned him by a dream, that he should not consent to the kings wicked request.

And God said unto Balaam, thou shalt not go with them,.... Which is a denial of the first thing Balak requested, "come now, therefore", &c. Numbers 22:6.
thou shall not curse the people; which was the principal thing desired, and in order to which he was solicited to go with the messengers; but this is absolutely forbidden:
for they are blessed; by the Lord himself, with an irrevocable blessing, and therefore it would be vain and fruitless, as well as dangerous for him to attempt to curse them, Genesis 12:3 this may have a special respect to the blessing of Jacob by Isaac, which could not be reversed by the solicitations of Esau, and which descended to Jacob's posterity, the Israelites, Genesis 27:33.