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Numbers 24:4-6
New English Translation
Numbers 24:4-6
New English Translation
4 the oracle of the one who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
although falling flat on the ground[a] with eyes open:[b]
5 ‘How[c] beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
and your dwelling places, O Israel!
6 They are like[d] valleys[e] stretched forth,
like gardens by the river’s side,
like aloes[f] that the Lord has planted,
and like cedar trees beside the waters.
Footnotes
- Numbers 24:4 tn 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.
- Numbers 24:4 tn 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.
- Numbers 24:5 tn Here מָה (mah) has an exclamatory sense: “How!” (see Gen 28:17).
- Numbers 24:6 tn Heb “as valleys they spread forth.”
- Numbers 24:6 tn Or “rows of palms.”
- Numbers 24:6 sn 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 [NCB], 298).
New English Translation (NET)
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