Numbers 22:38

“And Balaam said unto Balak, lo, I am come unto thee, etc.] And therefore let nothing more be said of what is past: and as for future things, have I now any power at all to say anything? that would be agreeable to the king, and answer his purpose in sending for him, namely, to curse the people of Israel; he suggests that he had not, he was under the powerful restraint of God; he could not say what he himself was inclined to say, and what the king would have him say, and he expected he should; he could not say as some in (<191204>Psalm 12:4): the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak; whether agreeable to Balak’s will and design or not, and whether for or against Israel:…”

“the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak--This appears a pious answer. It was an acknowledgment that he was restrained by a superior power.”

“22:38 Balaam’s reply reflected the lesson he had learned in the donkey incident (cp. 22:20, 35).”

“have I: Num 22:18; Psa 33:10, Psa 76:10; Pro 19:21; Isa 44:25, Isa 46:10, Isa 47:12 the word: Num 23:16, Num 23:26, Num 24:13; Kg1 22:14; Ch2 18:13 Numbers 22:39”

“But Balaam, being still mindful of the warning which he had just received from God, replied, "Lo, I am come unto thee now: have I then any power to speak anything (sc., of my own accord)? "The word which God puts into my mouth, that will I speak." With this reply he sought, at the very outset, to soften down the expectations of Balak, inasmuch as he concluded at once that his coming was a proof of his willingness to curse (Hengstenberg). As a matter of fact, Balaam did not say anything different to the king form what he had explained to his messengers at the very first (cf. Num 22:18). But just as he had not told them the whole truth, but had concealed the fact that Jehovah, his God, had…”