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,
Parallel translations
- WEB He took up his parable, and said, “Balaam the son of Beor says, the man whose eyes are open says;
- 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:
- 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,
- NASB Then he took up his discourse and said, “The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor, And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened;
- NLT and this is the message he delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Balaam begins his oracle, describing himself as a man whose eyes are opened to divine revelation. He speaks now as one given true sight by God.
Overview
The formal poetic introduction signals an inspired oracle rather than ordinary speech. Balaam claims clarity of spiritual perception, presenting himself as a seer who genuinely beholds what God reveals. The irony is that this outsider sees Israel's blessedness more clearly than the king who hired him to curse them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Num 24:16the 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:
- Num 23:7And 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!’
- Num 24:4the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
- Num 22:31Then 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.
- Num 23:18Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 24:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.