Numbers 22:38

Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able ¹  to speak ²  just anything? I must speak ³  only the word that God puts in my mouth.”

Nu 22:18; Nu 23:16,26; Nu 24:13; 1Ki 22:14; 2Ch 18:13; Ps 33:10; Ps 76:10; Pr 19:21; Isa 44:25; Isa 46:10; Isa 47:12

¹ tn The verb is אוּכַל (’ukhal) in a question – “am I able?” But emphasizing this is the infinitive absolute before it. So Balaam is saying something like, “Can I really say anything?”

² tn The Piel infinitive construct (without the preposition) serves as the object of the verb “to be able.” The whole question is rhetorical – he is saying that he will not be able to say anything God does not allow him to say.

³ tn The imperfect tense is here taken as an obligatory imperfect.