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Numbers 22:37-39
New English Translation
Numbers 22:37-39
New English Translation
37 Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send again and again[a] to you to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?”[b] 38 Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able[c] to speak[d] just anything? I must speak[e] only the word that God puts in my mouth.” 39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath Huzoth.
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- Numbers 22:37 tn The emphatic construction is made of the infinitive absolute and the perfect tense from the verb שָׁלַח (shalakh, “to send”). The idea must be more intense than something like, “Did I not certainly send.” Balak is showing frustration with Balaam for refusing him.
- Numbers 22:37 sn Balak again refers to his ability to “honor” the seer. This certainly meant payment for his service, usually gold ornaments, rings and jewelry, as well as some animals.
- Numbers 22:38 tn The verb is אוּכַל (ʾukhal) in a question—“am I able?” But emphasizing this is the infinitive absolute before it. So Balaam is saying something like, “Can I really say anything?”
- Numbers 22:38 tn The Piel infinitive construct (without the preposition) serves as the object of the verb “to be able.” The whole question is rhetorical—he is saying that he will not be able to say anything God does not allow him to say.
- Numbers 22:38 tn The imperfect tense is here taken as an obligatory imperfect.
New English Translation (NET)
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