Numbers 24 · Verse 3

Numbers 24:3

And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:

Numbers 24:3, King James Version

Numbers 24:3 in other translations

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,
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;
YLT	and he taketh up his simile, and saith: ‘An affirmation of Balaam son of Beor--And an affirmation of the man whose eyes are shut--
DARBY	And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, and the man of opened eye saith,
BBE	And moved by the spirit, he said, These are the words of Balaam, son of Beor, the words of the man whose eyes are open:
Webster	And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:

What does Numbers 24:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

3. 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."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 3 He 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 the angel who withstood him, till God opened his eyes; nor could he see the gracious intentions of God towards Israel, till the eyes of his understanding were opened by the powers of the Divine Spirit. This therefore he mentions, we may suppose, with humility and gratitude, and to the credit of the prophecy which he is now about to deliver, that the Moabites may receive it as the word of God, which must be fulfilled in due season. His words, in their meaning, are similar to those of the blind man in the Gospel: "Once I was blind, but now I see."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 24:1-9

Now Balaam spake not his own sense, but the language of the Spirit that came upon him. Many have their eyes open who have not their hearts open; are enlightened, but not sanctified. That knowledge which puffs men up with pride, will but serve to light them to hell, whither many go with their eyes open. The blessing is nearly the same as those given before. He admires in Israel, their beauty. The righteous…

Read the full comment on Numbers 24:1-9 →

Numbers 24:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּשָּׂ֥אvai.yi.Sa'and he lifted upH5375

מְשָׁל֖וֹme.sha.Looracle hisH4912

וַיֹּאמַ֑רvai.yo.Marand he saidH559

נְאֻ֤םne.'Um[the] utterance ofH5002

בִּלְעָם֙bil.'AmBalaamH1109

בְּנ֣וֹbe.Noson hisH1121

בְעֹ֔רve.'OrBeorH1160

וּנְאֻ֥םu.ne.'Umand [the] utterance ofH5002

הַגֶּ֖בֶרha.Ge.verthe manH1397

שְׁתֻ֥םshe.Tum<the> opened ofH8365

הָעָֽיִן\׃ha.'A.yinthe eyeH5869

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 24:3

Numbers 23:7
And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
Numbers 24:16
He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
Numbers 23:18
And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
Numbers 24:4
He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
Numbers 22:31
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

he took up.
23:7,18
whose eyes are open hath said. Heb. who had his eyes shut,but now opened.
4,16; 22:31

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Numbers 24:2
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
Numbers 24:3
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
Numbers 24:4
He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

Read all of Numbers 24

Numbers 24:3 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Entonces tomó su parábola, y dijo: Dijo Balaam hijo de Beor, y dijo el varón de ojos abiertos:
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et il proféra son discours sentencieux, et dit: Balaam, fils de Béor, dit, et l’homme qui a l’œil ouvert, dit:
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er hob seinen Spruch an und sprach: Es spricht Bileam, der Sohn Beors, und es spricht der Mann geöffneten Auges.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	assumpta parabola, ait: Dixit Balaam filius Beor: dixit homo, cujus obturatus est oculus: