Numbers 24:3

Numbers 24:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
• New International Version (NIV)and he spoke his message: “The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,
• English Standard Version (ESV)and he took up his discourse and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,

Context of Numbers 24:3

1Balaam realized that the Lord wanted to bless the Israelites. So he did not use magic again to find out what the Lord wanted him to do. Instead, he looked towards the desert. 2When he looked, he saw the Israelite people. They had put up their tents in groups for each tribe. Then the Spirit of God came on him. As a result, Balaam said, ‘This is God's message that he has given to Balaam, the son of Beor. It is the words of a man who understands what God is saying. 4It is the message of a man who hears God's words. I am a man who sees a vision that God Almighty has shown to him. I lie down on the ground, but my eyes are open! I see this: 5The tents where the Israelites live are beautiful!

Numbers 24:3 word by word

וַיִּשָּׂ֥א מְשָׁל֖וֹ וַיֹּאמַ֑ר נְאֻ֤ם בִּלְעָם֙ בְּנ֣וֹ בְעֹ֔ר וּנְאֻ֥ם הַגֶּ֖בֶר שְׁתֻ֥ם הָעָֽיִן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he took upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: loudH5375
• his parableמָשָׁלmâshâl · proverbH4912
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Balaamבִּלְעָםbil‛âm · BalaamH1109
• the sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Beorבְּעוֹרbe‛ôr · BeorH1160
• hath saidנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
• and the manגָּבֶרgeber · great manH1397
• whose eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• are openשָׁתַםshâtham · to openH8365

Cross-references for Numbers 24:3

• Numbers 12:6Then he said, ‘Listen to my words! If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will show myself to him in a vision. Or I will speak to him in a dream.
• Genesis 15:12When the sun was going down, Abram started to sleep. Suddenly he became very afraid because it was dark all around him.
• Psalms 89:19A long time ago, Lord, you spoke to your servants. In a vision, you said to them, ‘I have helped a brave soldier to be strong. I have chosen as king a young man from among the people.
• Daniel 8:26This vision about the evenings and the mornings is true. I have told you what it means. But keep the vision as a secret now. It will be a long time before these things happen.’
• Acts 10:10He became hungry and he wanted to eat some food. While someone was preparing a meal for him, Peter had a special dream.
• Acts 22:17So then I returned to Jerusalem. I went into the temple and I was praying there. I had a vision.
• 2 Corinthians 12:1I must continue to praise myself. It will not really help you, but I will tell you anyway. The Lord has shown me special things, like in a dream.
• Numbers 22:31Then the Lord let Balaam see the angel of the Lord. He could see that the angel stood there with a sword in his hand. Balaam lay down with his face down towards the ground.
• 1 Samuel 19:24When he met Samuel, he took off his clothes and he continued to prophesy. He lay on the ground with no clothes all that day and all that night. So people still say, ‘Has Saul really become one of the prophets?’
• Ezekiel 1:28It shone with the colours of a rainbow in the clouds when there is rain. This bright light showed the glory of the Lord, who was there. When I saw this, I bent down low with my face on the ground. I heard a voice that was speaking to me.
• Daniel 8:17So Gabriel came towards me, where I was standing. I was very afraid and I fell down onto the ground. He said to me, ‘You, as a human, need to understand that the vision is about the end of time.’
• Daniel 10:15While he was saying this to me, I was looking down at the ground. I could not speak.
• Revelation 1:10On the Lord's day, God's Spirit caused me to see and to hear things. I heard a voice speak behind me. The sound was as loud as a trumpet.

Commentaries on Numbers 24:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3He took up his parable - His prophetic declaration couched in highly poetic terms, and in regular metre, as the preceding were. The man whose eyes are open - I believe the original שתם shethum, should be translated shut, not open; for in the next verse, where the opening of his eyes is mentioned, a widely different word is used, גלה galah, which signifies to open or reveal. At first the eyes of Balaam were shut, and so closely too that he could not see…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Whose eyes are open - i. e., opened in inward vision, to discern things that were hidden from ordinary beholders.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-9The third message describes God's plan to bless Israel again.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. the man whose eyes are open--that is, a seer (1Sa 9:9), a prophet, to whom the visioned future was disclosed--sometimes when falling into a sleep (Ge 15:12-15), frequently into "a trance."Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 24:3

• Balaam
• Prophets

In the dictionaries

• Balaam
• Advertise
• Beor
• Coast
• Rise
• Tabernacle
• Abel-Shittim
• Balak
• Charm
• Close

Commentaries on Numbers 24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings