Numbers 24:3
1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as on previous occasions, but he turned his face toward the wilderness.
2 When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him,
and he lifted up an oracle, saying: “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,
4 the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- and he lifted up an oracle, saying: “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,
- 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:
- WEB
- He took up his parable, and said, “Balaam the son of Beor says, the man whose eyes are open says;
- ASV
- And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, And the man whose eye was closed saith;
- DARBY
- And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, and the man of opened eye saith,
- BLB
- And he lifted up his oracle and said: “An utterance of Balaam son of Beor, and a declaration of the man whose eyes are opened.
- ÅB
- og han tok til å kvede og sa: Så sier Bileam, Beors sønn, så sier mannen hvis øye er lukket[^1],
- OTB
- Han begynte sin uttalelse og sa: "Uttalelsen til Bileam, Beors sønn, uttalelsen til mannen hvis øye er åpent;
- B1930
- og han tok til å kvede og sa: Så sier Bileam, Beors sønn, så sier mannen hvis øie er lukket, / < nemlig for den ytre verden.>
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Numbers 23:7
And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’
Read in contextNumbers 24:16
the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
Read in contextNumbers 23:18
Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.
Read in contextNumbers 24:4
the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
Read in contextNumbers 22:31
Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. And Balaam bowed low and fell facedown.
Read in context