And he took up his discourse, and said: See 23.7.

The third oracle of Balaam (verses 3b-9) consists of twelve parallel units (an appropriate number with reference to Israel). Again, it is a blessing of God’s people rather than a cursing as Balak so urgently desired. In fact, the amount of divine benefit for the nation here is increased to a perceptibly higher level than in the preceding oracles. This oracle has a clear beginning, which is also distinct from the first and second oracles in that it highlights the inspiration of the prophet Balaam (verses 3b-4). There is also a prominent blessing at the end in verse 9b. In between we find two strophes. The first strophe (verses 5-7a) emphasizes the prosperity of Israel, and the second one (verses 8-9a) highlights the nation’s power. These two strophes are connected by a “hinge couplet” (verse 7b), with syntactic links to the preceding strophe and semantic links to the subsequent strophe. See the comments on 23.7b concerning the need to translate Balaam’s oracles in a style (or genre) that highlights their prophetic function.

In verses 3b-4 Balaam introduces his third prophecy in a distinctive manner (so Ashley, page 487), which indicates that it will be different from the first two oracles.

The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor: Unlike the previous two prophecies, Balaam’s third prophecy begins with the Hebrew word neʾum rendered oracle, which often appears in the middle or at the end of prophetic messages in the prophetic books (see the comments on 14.28; compare also 2 Sam 23.1; Pro 30.1). This term marks the message of Balaam, who mentions himself by name here for the first time, as the message of a prophet. If possible, we advise translators to render it in the same way throughout the Old Testament. It occurs three times in verses 3b-4, and each time New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders it “Word.” Good News Translation does not translate it consistently here. In fact, Good News Translation omits it the third time. Some languages may prefer to refer to Balaam in the first person since he is speaking here (so Contemporary English Version).

The oracle of the man whose eye is opened: This line is parallel with the previous one. The man whose eye is opened refers to Balaam. As the footnotes in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation suggest, the meaning of the Hebrew word rendered opened (shetum) is uncertain. The alternative rendering “perfect” in Revised Standard Version‘s footnote is based on a change to the Hebrew text from shetum to shettam. The Septuagint follows this reading by saying “the pure of vision.” The alternative rendering “closed” in Revised Standard Version‘s footnote is based on a different change to the Hebrew text from shetum to setum (so Vulgate). The Peshitta and the Jewish medieval commentators Rashi, Rashbam and Ibn Ezra (noted by Milgrom, page 322) follow the traditional Hebrew text with opened (so also Alter, Levine, and the vast majority of translations). The reading whose eye is opened makes more sense in the context, as a parallel to “having his eyes uncovered” at the end of verse 4. Good News Translation renders this phrase as “who can see clearly” (similarly Parole de Vie). This rendering may be more natural in some languages, but a more figurative or idiomatic translation is recommended. Some languages can retain the Hebrew imagery by changing eye to “eyes.”

A model for these two lines that uses first person for Balaam is:
aq1
• “Here are my words, I Balaam, the son of Beor,
the words of a man whose eyes are opened.

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 .