Verses 5-7a form the introduction to Balaam’s first prophecy in verses 7b-10.

And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said: Instead of the idiom here, in many languages it will be more natural to say “The LORD told Balaam [exactly] what to say” (Good News Translation) or “The Lord gave Balaam the message that he had to pronounce” (Bible en français courant).

Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak: New Revised Standard Version has “Return to Balak, and this is what you must say,” which is more natural in English. However, readers may still think that this direct speech introduces the LORD’s actual message, and since this is not the case, the text will sound unnatural. Good News Translation avoids this misunderstanding by using indirect speech here, saying “The LORD … sent him back to Balak to give him his message.” A natural model that keeps the direct speech is “Return to Balak and give him my message.”

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 .