Numbers 23:11-17
New English Translation
Balaam Relocates
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary[a] you have only blessed them!”[b] 12 Balaam replied,[c] “Must I not be careful[d] to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”[e] 13 Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”
14 So Balak brought Balaam[f] to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah,[g] where[h] he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 And Balaam[i] said to Balak, “Station yourself here[j] by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there.” 16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message[k] in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” 17 When Balaam[l] came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 23:11 tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.
- Numbers 23:11 tn The construction is emphatic, using the perfect tense and the infinitive absolute to give it the emphasis. It would have the force of “you have done nothing but bless,” or “you have indeed blessed.” The construction is reminiscent of the call of Abram and the promise of the blessing in such elaborate terms.
- Numbers 23:12 tn Heb “he answered and said.” The referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Numbers 23:12 tn The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) means “to guard, watch, observe” and so here with a sense of “be careful” or even “take heed” (so KJV, ASV). The nuance of the imperfect tense would be obligatory: “I must be careful”—to do what? to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth. The infinitive construct “to speak” is therefore serving as the direct object of שָׁמַר.
- Numbers 23:12 tn The clause is a noun clause serving as the direct object of “to speak.” It begins with the sign of the accusative, and then the relative pronoun that indicates the whole clause is the accusative.
- Numbers 23:14 tn Heb “he brought him”; the referents (Balak and Balaam) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Numbers 23:14 tn Some scholars do not translate this word as “Pisgah,” but rather as a “lookout post” or an “elevated place.”
- Numbers 23:14 tn Heb “and he built.”
- Numbers 23:15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Numbers 23:15 tn The verse uses כֹּה (koh) twice: “Station yourself here…I will meet [the Lord] there.”
- Numbers 23:16 tn Heb “word.”
- Numbers 23:17 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Numbers 23:11-17
International Standard Version
11 “What are you doing to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, not pronounce a blessing!”
12 But in response, Balaam asked, “Shouldn’t I be careful to communicate only what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Sacrifice
13 “Come with me to another place where you can see them,” Balak replied. “You’ll only see a portion of them, because you won’t be able to see them completely. Come and curse them from there for me.”
14 So Balak[a] took him to the field of Zophim, and from there to the top of Mount[b] Pisgah, where he built seven altars and then offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Then he told Balak, “Stand by your offering while I go alone to meet the Lord.”[c]
16 Then the Lord met with Balaam and gave a message to him. “Now go back to Balak and speak to him.” 17 So Balaam returned to where Balak had been standing, that is, next to his offerings, accompanied by the Moabite officials.
“What did the Lord say?” Balak asked him.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 23:14 Lit. he
- Numbers 23:14 The Heb. lacks Mount
- Numbers 23:15 The Heb. lacks with the Lord
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