Font Size
Numbers 23:2-4
New English Translation
Numbers 23:2-4
New English Translation
2 So Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam then offered on each[a] altar a bull and a ram. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself[b] by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me[c] I will tell you.”[d] Then he went to a deserted height.[e]
4 Then God met Balaam, who[f] said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 23:2 tn The Hebrew text has “on the altar,” but since there were seven of each animal and seven altars, the implication is that this means on each altar.
- Numbers 23:3 tn The verb הִתְיַצֵּב (hityatsev) means “to take a stand, station oneself.” It is more intentional than simply standing by something. He was to position himself by the sacrifice as Balaam withdrew to seek the oracle.
- Numbers 23:3 tn Heb “and the word of what he shows me.” The noun is in construct, and so the clause that follows functions as a noun clause in the genitive. The point is that the word will consist of divine revelation.
- Numbers 23:3 tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. This clause is dependent on the clause that precedes it.
- Numbers 23:3 sn He went up to a bald spot, to a barren height. The statement underscores the general belief that such tops were the closest things to the gods. On such heights people built their shrines and temples.
- Numbers 23:4 tn The relative pronoun is added here in place of the conjunction to clarify that Balaam is speaking to God and not vice versa.
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.