Numbers 23:5

23:5 Then the Lord put a message ¹  in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” ² 

Numbers 23:12

23:12 Balaam replied, ³  “Must I not be careful ⁴  to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?” ⁵ 

Numbers 23:16

23:16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message ⁶  in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”

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¹ tn Heb “word.”

² tn Heb “and thus you shall speak.”

³ tn Heb “he answered and said.” The referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Heb “word.”