Numbers 22:35

22:35 But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you may only speak¹ the word that I will speak to you.”² So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

Numbers 24:10

24:10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together.³ Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless⁴ them these three times!

Numbers 22:10

22:10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent a message to me, saying,

Numbers 22:14

22:14 So the princes of Moab departed⁵ and went back to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

Numbers 22:21

22:21 So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

Numbers 22:40

22:40 And Balak sacrificed bulls and sheep, and sent some⁶ to Balaam, and to the princes who were with him.

Numbers 23:1

Balaam Blesses Israel

23:1 ⁷Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

Numbers 23:12

23:12 Balaam replied,⁸ “Must I not be careful⁹ to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”¹⁰

Numbers 23:15

23:15 And Balaam¹¹ said to Balak, “Station yourself here¹² by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there.

Numbers 23:18

Balaam Prophesies Again

23:18 Balaam¹³ uttered¹⁴ his oracle, and said,

“Rise up,¹⁵ Balak, and hear;

Listen to me, son of Zippor:

Numbers 23:26

23:26 But Balaam replied¹⁶ to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks,¹⁷ I must do’?”

Numbers 23:29-30

23:29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.” 23:30 So Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹tn The imperfect tense here can be given the nuance of permission.

²tn The Hebrew word order is a little more emphatic than this: “but only the word which I speak to you, it you shall speak.”

³sn This is apparently a sign of contempt or derision (see Job 27:23; and Lam 2:15).

⁴tn The construction is emphatic, using the infinitive absolute with the perfect tense for “bless.”

⁵tn Heb “rose up.”

⁶sn The understanding is that Balak was making a sacrifice for a covenant relationship, and so he gave some of the meat to the men and to the seer.

⁷sn The first part of Balaam’s activity ends in disaster for Balak – he blesses Israel. The chapter falls into four units: the first prophecy (vv. 1-10), the relocation (vv. 11-17), the second prophecy (vv. 18-24), and a further location (vv. 25-30).

⁸tn Heb “he answered and said.” The referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹tn 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.

¹⁰tn 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.

¹¹tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹²tn The verse uses כֹּה (koh) twice: “Station yourself here…I will meet [the Lord] there.”

¹³tn Heb “he.” The antecedent has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴tn Heb “took up.”

¹⁵tn The verb probably means “pay attention” in this verse.

¹⁶tn Heb “answered and said.”

¹⁷tn This first clause, “all that the Lord speaks” – is a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb that comes at the end of the verse. It is something of an independent accusative case, since it is picked up with the sign of the accusative: “all that the Lord speaks, it I must do.”