1:4 The mountains will disintegrate 1 beneath him,
and the valleys will be split in two. 2
The mountains will melt 3 like wax in a fire,
the rocks will slide down like water cascading down a steep slope. 4
6:5 My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, 5
how Balaam son of Beor responded to him.
Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal,
so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” 6
6:7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams,
or ten thousand streams of olive oil?
Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion,
my offspring – my own flesh and blood – for my sin? 7
1 tn Or “melt” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This is a figurative description of earthquakes, landslides, and collapse of the mountains, rather than some sort of volcanic activity (note the remainder of the verse).
2 sn The mountains will disintegrate…the valleys will be split in two. This imagery pictures an earthquake and accompanying landslide.
3 tn The words “the mountains will melt” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The simile extends back to the first line of the verse.
4 tn The words “the rocks will slide down” are supplied in the translation for clarification. This simile elaborates on the prior one and further develops the imagery of the verse’s first line.
5 tn Heb “remember what Balak…planned.”
6 tn Heb “From Shittim to Gilgal, in order to know the just acts of the
7 tn Heb “the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often translated “soul,” but the word usually refers to the whole person; here “the sin of my soul” = “my sin.”