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.”

"Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."

So Balaam said to Balak, "Behold, I have come now to you! Am I able to speak anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak."

Balaam replied, "I have come, but I have no power to say just anything. I will speak only the messages that God gives me."

Balaam said to Balak, "Well, I'm here now. But I can't tell you just anything. I can speak only words that God gives me--no others."

Then Balaam said to Balak, Now I have come to you; but have I power to say anything? Only what God puts into my mouth may I say.

Balaam said to Balak, "I have come to you now, but do I have power to say just anything? The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say."

And Balaam said to Balak, "Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak."

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.”

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.