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 realized that it was pleasing in the eyes of Adonai to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorceries as at the other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness. 2Lifting up his eyes, Balaam saw Israel dwelling by tribes. The Ruach Elohim came over him. He uttered his oracle and said: “This is the oracle of Balaam son of Beor, and the oracle of a strong man whose eye has been opened, 4the oracle of one hearing God’s speech, one seeing Shaddai’s vision, one fallen down, yet with open eyes: 5How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, and your dwellings, O 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 12:6“Hear now My words!” He said. “When there is a prophet of Adonai, I reveal Myself in a vision, I speak to him in a dream.
• Genesis 15:12When the sun was about to set and a deep sleep fell on Abram, behold, terror of great darkness was falling upon him!
• Psalms 89:19For our shield belongs to Adonai, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
• Daniel 8:26“‘Now the vision of the evenings and mornings that has been told to you is true, but seal up the vision for it concerns many days from now.’
• Acts 10:10Now he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were preparing something, he fell into a trance.
• Acts 22:17“It happened that when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance;
• 2 Corinthians 12:1I must go on boasting—though it does no good, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
• Numbers 22:31Then Adonai opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of Adonai standing in the road with his drawn sword in his hand. So he fell on his face.
• 1 Samuel 19:24Then he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. That is why people were saying, “Is Saul too among the prophets?”
• Ezekiel 1:28Like the appearance of the rainbow in the cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the radiance. It was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Adonai. I saw it, fell upon my face, and heard the voice of the One who was speaking.
• Daniel 8:17“He came near to where I was standing, and as he approached I was terrified and fell on my face. But he said to me, ‘Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.’
• Daniel 10:15“While he was speaking these words to me, I bowed my face toward the ground and was speechless.
• Revelation 1:10I was in the Ruach on the Day of the Lord, and I heard behind me a loud voice like that of 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