Commentaire sur Les Nombres 22:38

הנה באתי אליך, even though I would have come to you at the time as you requested, what good would it have done you? Even now the situation is the same.

עתה היכול אוכל דבר מאומה? "Am I now able to say anything?" The reason the Torah quoted Bileam as saying עתה, "now," was to show us that this was his reaction to what the angel had told him when he had been expressly forbidden to be anything but G'd's mouthpiece. When Bileam repeated the words היכול אוכל he revealed the depth of his wickedness as he told Balak that he had tried 2 different ways to speak evil, but that G'd had blocked him in both instances. If only he had retained his freedom of action he would surely have cursed the Jewish people.

היכול אוכל דבר מאומה, ”am I empowered to say anything?” He referred to anything that Balak wanted him to say.