Numbers 24:4

נְאֻם שֹׁמֵעַ אִמְרֵי־אֵל אֲשֶׁר מַחֲזֵה שַׁדַּי יֶֽחֱזֶה נֹפֵל וּגְלוּי עֵינָֽיִם׃

✦ Hebrew interlinear

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✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

נְאֻ֕ם שֹׁמֵ֖עַ אִמְרֵי־אֵ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֨ר מַחֲזֵ֤ה שַׁדַּי֙ יֶֽחֱזֶ֔ה נֹפֵ֖ל וּגְל֥וּי עֵינָֽיִם׃

Greek (Septuagint)

φησὶν ἀκούων λόγια θεοῦ, ὅστις ὅρασιν θεοῦ εἶδεν, ἐν ὕπνῳ, ἀποκεκαλυμμένοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ·

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

dixit auditor sermonum Dei, qui visionem Omnipotentis intuitus est, qui cadit, et sic aperiuntur oculi ejus:

Spanish

Mensaje del que escucha las palabras de Dios, del que tiene visiones del Todopoderoso, del que cae al suelo pero tiene los ojos bien abiertos:

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Dijo el que oyó los dichos de Dios, el que vió la visión del Omnipotente; caído, mas abiertos los ojos:

English

the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:

✦ What the text says

Summary

The verse continues Balaam's oracular self-introduction, describing the source and manner of his prophetic speech: he hears the words of God and perceives a vision from the Almighty, falling into a particular state while his eyes remain uncovered/open.

Key words

ne'um ("utterance of", H5002) — construct noun opening the oracle formula, "the utterance of [someone]", marking this as formal prophetic speech.
shome'a ("hearer of", H8085) — qal participle in construct, describing an ongoing characteristic: one who habitually hears, not a single past event.
'El ("God", H410) — construct chain completion: "the words of God," identifying the source of the utterance.
machazeh Shaddai ("vision of the Almighty", H4236 + H7706) — construct noun + divine title, specifying the content and source of what is seen.
gelui 'einayim ("uncovered of eyes", H1540 + H5869) — passive participle in construct with a dual noun, literally "uncovered as to eyes," describing a physical/perceptual state.

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel construct chains introduced by participles: shome'a 'imrei-'El ("hearer of the words of God") and, after the relative 'asher ("who"), a clause where machazeh Shaddai ("vision of the Almighty") is the object fronted before the verb yechezeh ("he sees", qal imperfect of H2372). This fronting places emphasis on the vision itself as coming from Shaddai before naming the act of seeing.

The final two words, nofel ("falls", qal participle) and u-gelui 'einayim ("and uncovered of eyes"), are joined by the conjunction u- ("and"). Both are participles describing a simultaneous or characteristic state: one who is in a state of falling while also being gelui 'einayim, a construct phrase literally "uncovered as to the eyes." The dual form 'einayim specifies both eyes. The grammar does not specify whether "falling" refers to physical prostration, trance, or another posture — this is left to the participle's descriptive function alone, without further modifier in the Hebrew.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders nofel ("falls", H5307) as ἐν ὕπνῳ ("in sleep"), introducing a state of sleep not explicit in the Hebrew participle, which simply denotes "falling." The Vulgate's qui cadit ("who falls") follows the Hebrew more directly. Both LXX (ἀποκεκαλυμμένοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ) and Vulgate (aperiuntur oculi) render gelui 'einayim as "opened/uncovered eyes," consistent with the Hebrew passive participle construction.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.