“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me 6 from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’ 7
24:10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. 8 Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless 9 them these three times!
1 tn In this passage the text differs slightly; here it is “the nation that comes out,” using the article on the noun, and the active participle in the attributive adjective usage.
2 tn Here the infinitive construct is used to express the object or complement of the verb “to be able” (it answers the question of what he will be able to do).
3 tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. It either carries the force of an imperfect tense, or it may be subordinated to the preceding verbs.
4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “took up.”
6 tn The passage calls for a past tense translation; since the verb form is a prefixed conjugation, this tense should be classified as a preterite without the vav (ו). Such forms do occur, especially in the ancient poetic passages.
7 sn The opening lines seem to be a formula for the seer to identify himself and the occasion for the oracle. The tension is laid out early; Balaam knows that God has intended to bless Israel, but he has been paid to curse them.
8 sn This is apparently a sign of contempt or derision (see Job 27:23; and Lam 2:15).
9 tn The construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense for “bless.”