So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak: The return of Balak’s officials marks the end of the first episode. Some languages may have a special way of marking such a discourse closure. For the use of the verb rose in this context, see the comments on 16.25. As there, Good News Bible omits it.

And said, “Balaam refuses to come with us”: The messengers seemingly blame Balaam instead of the LORD for the failure of their mission. Good News Bible uses indirect discourse here, but in many languages direct speech is quite natural in narrative discourse.

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 .