22:18 Balaam replied 5 to the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the commandment 6 of the Lord my God 7 to do less or more.
23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a human being, 8 that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? 9
24:8 God brought them out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull;
they will devour hostile people 10
and will break their bones
and will pierce them through with arrows.
1 tn Both the “adversary” and “opposes” come from the same root: צָרַר (tsarar), “to hem in, oppress, harass,” or basically, “be an adversary.”
2 tn The Niphal perfect in this passage has the passive nuance and not a reflexive idea – the Israelites would be spared because God remembered them.
3 tn Heb “our souls.”
4 tn The Israelites’ opinion about the manna was clear enough – “worthless.” The word used is קְלֹקֵל (qÿloqel, “good for nothing, worthless, miserable”).
5 tn Heb “answered and said.”
6 tn Heb “mouth.”
7 sn In the light of subsequent events one should not take too seriously that Balaam referred to Yahweh as his God. He is referring properly to the deity for which he is acting as the agent.
8 tn Heb “son of man.”
9 tn The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.
10 tn Heb “they will devour nations,” their adversaries.