Numbers 23:10

23:10 Who ¹  can count ²  the dust ³  of Jacob,

Or number ⁴  the fourth part of Israel?

Let me ⁵  die the death of the upright, ⁶ 

and let the end of my life ⁷  be like theirs.” ⁸ 

Deuteronomy 32:29

32:29 I wish that they were wise and could understand this,

and that they could comprehend what will happen to them.”

Romans 6:21-22

6:21 So what benefit ⁹  did you then reap ¹⁰  from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 6:22 But now, freed ¹¹  from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit ¹²  leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.

Philippians 3:19

3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things. ¹³ 

Hebrews 9:27

9:27 And just as people ¹⁴  are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, ¹⁵ 

[23:10]  ¹ tn The question is again rhetorical; it means no one can count them – they are innumerable.

[23:10]  ² tn The perfect tense can also be classified as a potential nuance. It does not occur very often, but does occur several times.

[23:10]  ³ sn The reference in the oracle is back to Gen 13:16, which would not be clear to Balaam. But God had described their growth like the dust of the earth. Here it is part of the description of the vast numbers.

[23:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “and as a number, the fourth part of Israel.” The noun in the MT is not in the construct state, and so it should be taken as an adverbial accusative, forming a parallel with the verb “count.” The second object of the verse then follows, “the fourth part of Israel.” Smr and the LXX have “and who has numbered” (וּמִסְפָּר, umispar), making this colon more parallel to the preceding one. The editor of BHS prefers this reading.

[23:10]  ⁵ tn The use of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) for the subject of the verb stresses the personal nature – me.

[23:10]  ⁶ sn Here the seer’s words link with the promise of Gen 12:3, that whoever blesses Israel will be blessed. Since the blessing belongs to them, the upright (and not Balak), Balaam would like his lot to be with them.

[23:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “my latter end.”

[23:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “his.”

[6:21]  ⁹ tn Grk “fruit.”

[6:21]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “have,” in a tense emphasizing their customary condition in the past.

[6:22]  ¹¹ tn The two aorist participles translated “freed” and “enslaved” are causal in force; their full force is something like “But now, since you have become freed from sin and since you have become enslaved to God….”

[6:22]  ¹² tn Grk “fruit.”

[3:19]  ¹³ tn Grk “whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly and glory is their shame, these who think of earthly things.”

[9:27]  ¹⁴ tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

[9:27]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and after this – judgment.”