In verses 20-24 there are three brief oracles against other non-Israelite peoples. So the total number of Balaam’s oracles is seven, the number symbolizing completeness. These three oracles continue the theme of divine punishment found at the end of the preceding one (verse 19b) and thus act as a poetic denouement for Balaam’s prophecies, with reference to all those who oppose the people of Yahweh. For the contrast between Israel in verses 15-19 and other nations in verses 20-24, see the comments on the heading for this section.

Then he looked on Amalek is literally “And he saw Amalek.” Balaam had a vision here (see verses 4 and 16), so Good News Translation renders this clause as “Then in his vision Balaam saw the Amalekites,” which may be a helpful model for other languages. Since a new discourse unit begins here, this may need to be marked in a special way in translation, especially for those who are hearing the text being read. For the people of Amalek, who were the first to wage war against the Israelites on their journey from Egypt (Exo 17.8-16), see the comments on 13.29. See also verse 7, where the Amalekite king Agag is mentioned.

And took up his discourse, and said: See the comments on 23.7a.

Amalek was the first of the nations does not mean Amalek was the oldest, greatest, or “most powerful” (Good News Translation) nation. A possible model for this line is “A leading nation is Amalek” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), but an even better one is “Amalek was the first of the nations to oppose Israel.” There is no verb here in Hebrew, so translators may use present or past tense.

But in the end he shall come to destruction: New Revised Standard Version is slightly more accurate with “but its end is to perish forever,” and so is Revised English Bible with “but his end will be utter destruction.” This is the central theme of the three short prophecies: all of Israel’s enemies in the land will ultimately be destroyed by the LORD (see also verses 22a and 24b). The nations mentioned are simply close at hand and representative. The end is parallel to the first in the previous line. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders the end as “its fate,” and New Living Translation is similar with “its destiny.” An alternative rendering, which is found in the Septuagint, is “their offspring,” but very few translations follow this interpretation (so La Bible de Jérusalem Nouvelle, Buber). Because of the Hebrew word ʿadey (meaning “endlessness”) in this line, it seems best to include the temporal reference “forever” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News 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 .