Numbers 23:7

23:7 Then Balaam11 uttered12 his oracle, saying,

“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me13 from Aram,

out of the mountains of the east, saying,

‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel.’14

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11	tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12	tn Heb “took up.”
13	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.
14	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.