Numbers 23:23

23:23 For there is no spell against ¹  Jacob,

nor is there any divination against Israel.

At this time ²  it must be said ³  of Jacob

and of Israel, ‘Look at ⁴  what God has done!’

Numbers 22:4

22:4 So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “Now this mass of people ⁵  will lick up everything around us, as the bull devours the grass of the field. Now Balak son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at this time.

[23:23]  ¹ tn Or “in Jacob.” But given the context the meaning “against” is preferable. The words describe two techniques of consulting God; the first has to do with observing omens in general (“enchantments”), and the second with casting lots or arrows of the like (“divinations” [Ezek 21:26]). See N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCB), 295-96.

[23:23]  ² tn The form is the preposition “like, as” and the word for “time” – according to the time, about this time, now.

[23:23]  ³ tn The Niphal imperfect here carries the nuance of obligation – one has to say in amazement that God has done something marvelous or “it must be said.”

[23:23]  ⁴ tn The words “look at” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[22:4]  ⁵ tn The word is simply “company,” but in the context he must mean a vast company – a horde of people.