And the LORD said to Moses: This quote frame recurs throughout the book of Numbers, normally at the beginning of a new unit of direct speech (see the comments on the previous verse and 1.1). As a prominent discourse marker, indeed “an important thematic element,” it should be translated consistently wherever it occurs.

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 .