Deuteronomy 23:4-5

23:4 for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired ¹  Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you. 23:5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed ²  the curse to a blessing, for the Lord your God loves ³  you.

[23:4]  ¹ tn Heb “hired against you.”

[23:5]  ² tn Heb “the Lord your God changed.” The phrase “the Lord your God” has not been included in the translation here for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy. Moreover, use of the pronoun “he” could create confusion regarding the referent (the Lord or Balaam).

[23:5]  ³ tn The verb אָהַב (’ahav, “love”) here and commonly elsewhere in the Book of Deuteronomy speaks of God’s elective grace toward Israel. See note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.