But God said to Balaam, “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, ¹  for they are blessed.” ² 

biblegateway Num 22:12

God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."

Then God said to Balaam, "You are not to go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed."

But God said to Balaam, "Don’t go with them! Don’t curse these people, because they are blessed."

biblegateway Num 22:12

But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed."

God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."

bibleoremus Num 22:12

God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."

God said to Balaam, “You are not to go with them or curse the people, because they are to be blessed.”

biblegateway Num 22:12

And God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."

And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they [are] blessed.

biblegateway Num 22:12

But God said to Balaam, “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people, ¹  for they are blessed.” ² 

¹ tn The two verbs are negated imperfects; they have the nuance of prohibition: You must not go and you must not curse.

² tn The word בָּרוּךְ (barukh) is the Qal passive participle, serving here as the predicate adjective after the supplied verb “to be.” The verb means “enrich,” in any way, materially, spiritually, physically. But the indication here is that the blessing includes the promised blessing of the patriarchs, a blessing that gave Israel the land. See further, C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).