John Gill Commentary Numbers 24:9

"He couched, he lay down as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesseth thee, And cursed be every one that curseth thee." — Numbers 24:9 (ASV)

He couched
Which may respect the posture of the armies of Israel in the plains of Moab:

he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion ;
as he would do, and did in the land of Canaan, when conquered by Israel; they took up their residence on it quietly, and dwelt in it securely, and in no more fear of their enemies than a lion, which lays itself down and sleeps without concern anywhere:

who shall stir him up ?
who dare do it? as it would be a very rash, bold, daring, and dangerous thing to rouse up a lion lying down; so it is suggested it would be alike to provoke Israel to war at some certain times, in the days of David more especially:

blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee ;
which are the very words in which Isaac blessed Jacob, the ancestor of these people, (Genesis 27:29) and which blessing is confirmed by Balaam against his will, and whereby he cursed himself instead of Israel; for though he could not curse him with words, he had cursed him in his heart, and would have done it verbally if he could ^F1 .

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FOOTNOTES:

• F1: "Qui, quia non licuit, non facit, ille facit". Ovid.