Text -- Numbers 22:38 (NET)

22:38 Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able to speak just anything? I must speak only the word that God puts in my mouth.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Num 22:38

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.