And he came to him, and lo, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him: This sentence is very similar to verse 6 (see the comments there). The only major difference is the use of the Hebrew verb meaning came instead of the verb meaning “returned.” In spite of this difference, Good News Bible uses the verb “went back” both here and in verse 6.

And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”: Balak’s question shows how anxious he is to know what the LORD said. He is now portrayed as being more anxious than in verse 6, where he does not ask anything. In many languages only direct speech will bring out this anxiety in an effective manner. This is why we do not recommend the indirect speech in Good News Bible here (“Balak asked what the LORD had said”). There is another reason why Balak’s question should really stand out in translation: it has no parallel in the context of the other prophecies. (Before the third prophecy in chapter 24 Balak does not ask this question either.) Balak explicitly mentions the LORD: this shows his resignation to the fact that it is the LORD, the God of the people whom he is trying to curse, who ultimately decides about who will be blessed or cursed.

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 .