Numbers 23:27

23:27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God ¹  to let you curse them for me from there.” ² 

Numbers 32:13

32:13 So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before ³  the Lord was finished. ⁴ 

[23:27]  ¹ tn Heb “be pleasing in the eyes of God.”

[23:27]  ² sn Balak is stubborn, as indeed Balaam is persistent. But Balak still thinks that if another location were used it just might work. Balaam had actually told Balak in the prophecy that other attempts would fail. But Balak refuses to give up so easily. So he insists they perform the ritual and try again. This time, however, Balaam will change his approach, and this will result in a dramatic outpouring of power on him.

[32:13]  ³ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[32:13]  ⁴ tn The verb is difficult to translate, since it has the idea of “complete, finish” (תָּמָם, tamam). It could be translated “consumed” in this passage (so KJV, ASV); NASB “was destroyed.”