^22:5And he sent messengers to Balaam⁶ son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River⁷ in the land of Amaw,⁸ to summon him, saying, “Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face⁹ of the earth, and they are settling next to me. ^22:6So¹⁰ now, please come and curse this nation¹¹ for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them¹² and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed,¹³ and whoever you curse is cursed.”

Read in Logos

Footnotes

6 There is much literature on pagan diviners and especially prophecy in places in the east like Mari (see, for example, H. B. Huffmon, “Prophecy in the Mari Letters,” 31 [1968]: 101–24). Balaam appears to be a pagan diviner who was of some reputation; he was called to curse the Israelites, but God intervened and gave him blessings only. The passage forms a nice complement to texts that deal with blessings and curses. It shows that no one can curse someone whom God has blessed.
7 Heb “by the river”; in most contexts this expression refers to the Euphrates River (cf. , , , , , ).
8 Heb “in the land of Amaw” (cf. , , ); traditionally “in the land of the sons of his people.” The has “by the river of the land.”
9 Heb “eye.” So also in v. 11.
10 The two lines before this verse begin with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), and so they lay the foundation for these imperatives. In view of those circumstances, this is what should happen.
11 Heb “people.” So also in vv. 10, 17, 41.
12 The construction uses the imperfect tense אוּכַל (’ukhal, “I will be able”) followed by the imperfect tense נַכֶּה (nakkeh, “we will smite/attack/defeat”). The second verb is clearly the purpose or the result of the first, even though there is no conjunction or particle.
13 The verb is the Piel imperfect of בָּרַךְ (barakh), with the nuance of possibility: “whomever you may bless.” The Pual participle מְבֹרָךְ (mévorakh) serves as the predicate.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land. Balak said:

“A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. Balak said to him, “Look, a people has come out of Egypt; they cover the surface of the land and are living right across from me. Please come and put a curse on these people for me because they are more powerful than I am. I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed.”

NLTNew Living Translation

sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said:

“Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me. Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the river, in the land of the children of his people, to summon him, saying, “Look! A people went out from Egypt. Look! They cover the surface of the land; they are about to dwell opposite me. Now, please go, curse this people for me because they are stronger than me; perhaps I will be able to strike them and drive them out from the land because I know whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you cursed is cursed.”

KJV 1900King James Version

He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.

Public Domain