And Balak said to Balaam: In this context the generic verb said may be rendered “exclaimed” or “shouted” (Contemporary English Version).

Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all renders an emphatic expression in Hebrew, which is literally “Even to curse you shall not curse it [Israel], even to bless you shall not bless it.” The Hebrew verbs for curse and bless are repeated for emphasis, first as infinitive absolutes and then as finite verbs. In a number of languages a literal rendering like the one in Revised Standard Version would be very misleading. Good News Translation expresses clearly what Balak is saying: “You refuse to curse the people of Israel, but at least don’t bless them!” (similarly Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling, and a number of French translations). New Living Translation is similar with “Fine, but if you won’t curse them, at least don’t bless them!” It seems that Balak decides that he would prefer silence over either blessing or cursing (so Cole, page 414). He is becoming very frustrated, and this feeling may be implied in translation.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .