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

1When Balaam saw that the Lord wanted to bless Israel, he didn’t look for omens as he had done before. He turned toward the desert, 2looked up, and saw Israel’s camp grouped by tribes. The Spirit of God entered him, and he delivered this message: “This is the message of Balaam, son of Beor. This is the message of the man whose eyesight is clear. 4This is the message of the one who hears God’s words, has a vision from the Almighty, and falls ⌞into a trance⌟ with his eyes open: 5How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, and the places where you live, Israel.

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 12:6He said, “Listen to my words: When there are prophets of the Lord among you, I make myself known to them in visions or speak to them in dreams.
• Genesis 15:12As the sun was just about to set, a deep sleep—a dreadful, deep darkness—came over Abram.
• Psalms 89:19Once in a vision you said to your faithful ones: “I set a boy above warriors. I have raised up one chosen from the people.
• Daniel 8:26The vision about the ⌞2,300⌟ evenings and mornings that was explained to you is true. Seal the vision, because it is about things that will happen in the distant future.”
• Acts 10:10He became hungry and wanted to eat. While the food was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
• Acts 22:17“After that, I returned to Jerusalem. While I was praying in the temple courtyard, I fell into a trance
• 2 Corinthians 12:1I must brag, although it doesn’t do any good. I’ll go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
• Numbers 22:31Then the Lord let Balaam see the Messenger of the Lord who was standing in the road with his sword drawn. So Balaam knelt, bowing with his face touching the ground.
• 1 Samuel 19:24He even took off his clothes as he prophesied in front of Samuel and lay there naked all day and all night. This is where the saying, “Is Saul one of the prophets?” came from.
• Ezekiel 1:28The brightness all around him looked like a rainbow in the clouds. It was like the Lord’s glory. When I saw it, I immediately bowed down, and I heard someone speaking.
• Daniel 8:17Gabriel came up beside me, and when he came, I was terrified and immediately knelt down. He said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision is about the end times.”
• Daniel 10:15When he said this to me, I bowed down with my face touching the ground and was silent.
• Revelation 1:10I came under the Spirit’s power on the Lord’s day. I heard a loud voice behind me like 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