Numbers 23:7

23:7 Then Balaam ¹  uttered ²  his oracle, saying,

“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me ³  from Aram,

out of the mountains of the east, saying,

‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel.’ ⁴ 

Numbers 23:18

Balaam Prophesies Again

23:18 Balaam ⁵  uttered ⁶  his oracle, and said,

“Rise up, ⁷  Balak, and hear;

Listen to me, son of Zippor:

Numbers 24:3

24:3 Then he uttered this oracle: ⁸ 

“The oracle ⁹  of Balaam son of Beor;

the oracle of the man whose eyes are open; ¹⁰ 

Numbers 24:15

Balaam Prophesies a Fourth Time

24:15 Then he uttered this oracle: ¹¹ 

“The oracle of Balaam son of Beor;

the oracle of the man whose eyes are open;

Job 27:1

A Protest of Innocence

27:1 And Job took up his discourse again: ¹² 

Isaiah 14:4

14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: ¹³ 

“Look how the oppressor has met his end!

Hostility ¹⁴  has ceased!

Ezekiel 16:44

16:44 “‘Observe – everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.”

Habakkuk 2:6

The Proud Babylonians are as Good as Dead

2:6 “But all these nations will someday taunt him ¹⁵ 

and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ¹⁶ 

‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead ¹⁷ 

(How long will this go on?) ¹⁸  –

he who gets rich by extortion!’ ¹⁹ 

Mark 12:12

12:12 Now ²⁰  they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So ²¹  they left him and went away. ²² 

[23:7]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:7]  ² tn Heb “took up.”

[23:7]  ³ tn The passage calls for a past tense translation; since the verb form is a prefixed conjugation, this tense should be classified as a preterite without the vav (ו). Such forms do occur, especially in the ancient poetic passages.

[23:7]  ⁴ sn The opening lines seem to be a formula for the seer to identify himself and the occasion for the oracle. The tension is laid out early; Balaam knows that God has intended to bless Israel, but he has been paid to curse them.

[23:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “he.” The antecedent has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[23:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “took up.”

[23:18]  ⁷ tn The verb probably means “pay attention” in this verse.

[24:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”

[24:3]  ⁹ tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is an “oracle.” It is usually followed by a subjective genitive, indicating the doer of the action. The word could be rendered “says,” but this translations is more specific.

[24:3]  ¹⁰ tn The Greek version reads “the one who sees truly.” The word has been interpreted in both ways, “shut” or “open.”

[24:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”

[27:1]  ¹² tn The Hebrew word מָשָׁל (mashal) is characteristically “proverb; by-word.” It normally refers to a brief saying, but can be used for a discourse (see A. R. Johnson, “MasŒal,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 162ff.).

[14:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”

[14:4]  ¹⁴ tc The word in the Hebrew text (מַדְהֵבָה, madhevah) is unattested elsewhere and of uncertain meaning. Many (following the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a) assume a dalet-resh (ד-ר) confusion and emend the form to מַרְהֵבָה (marhevah, “onslaught”). See HALOT 548 s.v. II *מִדָּה and HALOT 633 s.v. *מַרְהֵבָה.

[2:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Will not these, all of them, take up a taunt against him…?” The rhetorical question assumes the response, “Yes, they will.” The present translation brings out the rhetorical force of the question by rendering it as an affirmation.

[2:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and a mocking song, riddles, against him? And one will say.”

[2:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who increases [what is] not his.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe,” “ah”) was used in funeral laments and carries the connotation of death.

[2:6]  ¹⁸ tn This question is interjected parenthetically, perhaps to express rhetorically the pain and despair felt by the Babylonians’ victims.

[2:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and the one who makes himself heavy [i.e., wealthy] [by] debts.” Though only appearing in the first line, the term הוֹי (hoy) is to be understood as elliptical in the second line.

[12:12]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to introduce a somewhat parenthetical remark by the author.

[12:12]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[12:12]  ²² sn The point of the parable in Mark 12:1-12 is that the leaders of the nation have been rejected by God and the vineyard (v. 9, referring to the nation and its privileged status) will be taken from them and given to others (an allusion to the Gentiles).