^23:11Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary²⁸ you have only blessed them!”²⁹^23:12Balaam replied,³⁰ “Must I not be careful³¹ to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”³²^23:13Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”

^23:14So Balak brought Balaam³³ to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah,³⁴ where³⁵ he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ^23:15And Balaam³⁶ said to Balak, “Station yourself here³⁷ by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord there. ^23:16Then the Lord met Balaam and put a message³⁸ in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.” ^23:17When Balaam³⁹ came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”

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Footnotes

28 The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) here to stress the contrast.
29 The construction is emphatic, using the perfect tense and the infinitive absolute to give it the emphasis. It would have the force of “you have done nothing but bless,” or “you have indeed blessed.” The construction is reminiscent of the call of Abram and the promise of the blessing in such elaborate terms.
30 Heb “he answered and said.” The referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) means “to guard, watch, observe” and so here with a sense of “be careful” or even “take heed” (so , ). 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.
32 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.
33 Heb “he brought him”; the referents (Balak and Balaam) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
34 Some scholars do not translate this word as “Pisgah,” but rather as a “lookout post” or an “elevated place.”
35 Heb “and he built.”
36 Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
37 The verse uses כֹּה (koh) twice: “Station yourself here … I will meet [the Lord] there.”
38 Heb “word.”
39 Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.” And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there.” And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!”

He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp. And from there, curse them for me.” So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there.”

The Lord met with Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”

So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the Moabite officials. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“What have you done to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!”

He answered, “Shouldn’t I say exactly what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp; you won’t see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me.” So Balak took him to Lookout Field on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the Lord over there.”

The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then he said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.”

So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

NLTNew Living Translation

Then King Balak demanded of Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies. Instead, you have blessed them!”

But Balaam replied, “I will speak only the message that the Lord puts in my mouth.”

Then King Balak told him, “Come with me to another place. There you will see another part of the nation of Israel, but not all of them. Curse at least that many!” So Balak took Balaam to the plateau of Zophim on Pisgah Peak. He built seven altars there and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.

Then Balaam said to the king, “Stand here by your burnt offerings while I go over there to meet the Lord.”

And the Lord met Balaam and gave him a message. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and give him my message.”

So Balaam returned and found the king standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab. “What did the Lord say?” Balak asked eagerly.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have surely blessed them!” He answered and said, “Should I not speak what Yahweh puts in my mouth?”

Then Balak said, “Please walk with me to another place where you will see them, but you will only see part of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” So he took him to the field of Zophim to the top of Pisgah, and he built seven altars, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself here at the burnt offering while I myself meet with Yahweh there.” Then Yahweh met with Balaam, and he put a word in his mouth, and he said, “Return to Balak, and you must speak thus.” He came to him, and behold, he was standing at his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?”

KJV 1900King James Version

And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth? And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence. And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder. And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the Lord spoken?

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