Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw … is literally “And the LORD uncovered the eyes of Balaam, and he saw….” Good News Translation says “Then the LORD let Balaam see…,” which we do not recommend, since this model does not express as clearly as the Hebrew does that Balaam was not able to see the angel before (the angel was not simply hidden from his view). A better model is “Then the LORD showed also to Balaam…” (similarly Bijbel in Gewone Taal) or “Then the LORD enabled Balaam to see…” (similarly SPCL). Here we have a pagan “seer” who could not see unless the LORD allowed it. Ashley (page 457) notes that “this kind of statement would not be lost on an Israelite audience.”

The angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand: See verse 23. Instead of in the way, New Revised Standard Version says “in the road,” which is a helpful revision. There was a definite trail that Balaam and the others were following on their journey to King Balak. Balaam saw the angel of the LORD for the first time, and this had a strong impact on him. The appearance of the angel is not new to the reader, but it is new to Balaam, so there is no good reason to say simply “the angel standing there with his sword,” as Good News Translation has done.

And he bowed his head, and fell on his face renders two Hebrew verbs often used together (see, for example, Gen 24.26, 48; Exo 4.31; 12.27), meaning to kneel down and lie prostrate on the ground to show respect, probably in this case mixed with fear (see A Handbook on Numbers at Exo 4.31). The verb fell may wrongly suggest that Balaam fell on his face by accident. NET Bible provides a better model here, saying “so he bowed his head and threw himself down with his face to the ground.” In some languages it may be necessary to say “So he bowed down in alarm to the angel, throwing himself right down with his face to the ground.” His face is literally “his nostrils.” In many languages a new sentence should begin here, rather than using the punctuation link of a semicolon, which often leads to improper intonation patterns when the biblical text is read publicly aloud.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .