Logos Bible Study

Numbers 24:3–9

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24:3Then he uttered this oracle:7

“The oracle8 of Balaam son of Beor;

the oracle of the man whose eyes are open;9

24:4the oracle of the one who hears the words of God,

who sees a vision from the Almighty,

although falling flat on the ground10 with eyes open:11

24:5‘How12 beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,

and your dwelling places, O Israel!

24:6They are like13 valleys14 stretched forth,

like gardens by the river’s side,

like aloes15 that the Lord has planted,

and like cedar trees beside the waters.

24:7He will pour the water out of his buckets,16

and their descendants will be like abundant17 water;18

their king will be greater than Agag,19

and their kingdom will be exalted.

24:8God brought them out of Egypt.

They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull;

they will devour hostile people20

and will break their bones

and will pierce them through with arrows.

24:9They crouch and lie down like a lion,

and as a lioness,21 who can stir him?

Blessed is the one who blesses you,

and cursed is the one who curses you!’ ”

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Footnotes

  1. 7 Heb “and he took up his oracle and said.”
  2. 8 The word נְאֻם (né’um) is an “oracle.” It is usually followed by a subjective genitive, indicating the doer of the action. The word could be rendered “says,” but this translations is more specific.
  3. 9 The Greek version reads “the one who sees truly.” The word has been interpreted in both ways, “shut” or “open.”
  4. 10 The phrase “flat on the ground” is supplied in the translation for clarity. The Greek version interprets the line to mean “falling asleep.” It may mean falling into a trance.
  5. 11 The last colon simply has “falling, but opened eyes.” The falling may simply refer to lying prone; and the opened eyes may refer to his receiving a vision. See H. E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, 37–41.
  6. 12 Here מָה (mah) has an exclamatory sense: “How!” (see Gen 28:17).
  7. 13 Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”
  8. 14 Or “rows of palms.”
  9. 15 The language seems to be more poetic than precise. N. H. Snaith notes that cedars do not grow beside water; he also connects “aloes” to the eaglewood that is more exotic, and capable of giving off an aroma (Leviticus and Numbers [], 298).
  10. 16 For this colon the has “a man shall come out of his seed.” Cf. the and .
  11. 17 Heb “many.”
  12. 18 These two lines are difficult, but the general sense is that of irrigation buckets and a well-watered land. The point is that Israel will be prosperous and fruitful.
  13. 19 Many commentators see this as a reference to Agag of 1 Sam 15:32–33, the Amalekite king slain by Samuel, for that is the one we know. But that is by no means clear, for this text does not identify this Agag. If it is that king, then this poem, or this line in this poem, would have to be later, unless one were to try to argue for a specific prophecy. Whoever this Agag is, he is a symbol of power.
  14. 20 Heb “they will devour nations,” their adversaries.
  15. 21 On the usage of this word see לָבִיא.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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,

the oracle of him who hears the words of God,

who sees the vision of the Almighty,

falling down with his eyes uncovered:

How lovely are your tents, O Jacob,

your encampments, O Israel!

Like palm groves that stretch afar,

like gardens beside a river,

like aloes that the Lord has planted,

like cedar trees beside the waters.

Water shall flow from his buckets,

and his seed shall be in many waters;

his king shall be higher than Agag,

and his kingdom shall be exalted.

God brings him out of Egypt

and is for him like the horns of the wild ox;

he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries,

and shall break their bones in pieces

and pierce them through with his arrows.

He crouched, he lay down like a lion

and like a lioness; who will rouse him up?

Blessed are those who bless you,

and cursed are those who curse you.”

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

and he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,

the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,

the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,

who sees a vision from the Almighty,

who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

“How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,

your dwelling places, Israel!

“Like valleys they spread out,

like gardens beside a river,

like aloes planted by the Lord,

like cedars beside the waters.

Water will flow from their buckets;

their seed will have abundant water.

“Their king will be greater than Agag;

their kingdom will be exalted.

“God brought them out of Egypt;

they have the strength of a wild ox.

They devour hostile nations

and break their bones in pieces;

with their arrows they pierce them.

Like a lion they crouch and lie down,

like a lioness—who dares to rouse them?

“May those who bless you be blessed

and those who curse you be cursed!”

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

and he proclaimed his poem:

The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,

the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened,

the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God,

who sees a vision from the Almighty,

who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered:

How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,

your dwellings, Israel.

They stretch out like river valleys,

like gardens beside a stream,

like aloes the Lord has planted,

like cedars beside the water.

Water will flow from his buckets,

and his seed will be by abundant water.

His king will be greater than Agag,

and his kingdom will be exalted.

God brought him out of Egypt;

he is like the horns of a wild ox for them.

He will feed on enemy nations

and gnaw their bones;

he will strike them with his arrows.

He crouches, he lies down like a lion

or a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

Those who bless you will be blessed,

and those who curse you will be cursed.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

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,

the message of one who hears the words of God,

who sees a vision from the Almighty,

who bows down with eyes wide open:

How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob;

how lovely are your homes, O Israel!

They spread before me like palm groves,

like gardens by the riverside.

They are like tall trees planted by the Lord,

like cedars beside the waters.

Water will flow from their buckets;

their offspring have all they need.

Their king will be greater than Agag;

their kingdom will be exalted.

God brought them out of Egypt;

for them he is as strong as a wild ox.

He devours all the nations that oppose him,

breaking their bones in pieces,

shooting them with arrows.

Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down;

like a lioness, who dares to arouse her?

Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel,

and cursed is everyone who curses you.”

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

He uttered his oracle and said,

“The declaration of Balaam son Beor,

the declaration of the man whose eyes are closed,

the declaration of the hearer of God’s words,

who sees the revelation of Shaddai,

falling down but whose eyes are uncovered.

How good are your tents, O Jacob,

your dwellings, O Israel!

They are spread out like valleys,

like gardens on a river,

like aloes planted by Yahweh,

like cedars at the waters.

He will pour water from his buckets,

and his offspring will be like many waters;

his king will be higher than Agag,

and his kingdom will be exalted.

God, who brings him out from Egypt,

is like the strength of a wild ox for him.

He will devour the nations who are his enemies;

he will break their bones;

he will pierce them with his arrows.

He crouches, he lies down like a lion,

and like a lioness, who will rouse him?

They who bless you will be blessed,

and they who curse you will be cursed.”

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

And he took up his parable, and said,

Balaam the son of Beor hath said,

And the man whose eyes are open hath said:

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:

How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,

And thy tabernacles, O Israel!

As the valleys are they spread forth,

As gardens by the river’s side,

As the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted,

And as cedar trees beside the waters.

He shall pour the water out of his buckets,

And his seed shall be in many waters,

And his king shall be higher than Agag,

And his kingdom shall be exalted.

God brought him forth out of Egypt;

He hath as it were the strength of an unicorn:

He shall eat up the nations his enemies,

And shall break their bones,

And pierce them through with his arrows.

He couched, he lay down as a lion,

And as a great lion: who shall stir him up?

Blessed is he that blesseth thee,

And cursed is he that curseth thee.

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