The oracle of him who hears the words of God: See verse 4.

And knows the knowledge of the Most High: The Hebrew text of verses 15b-16 is the same as in verses 3b-4, except for this line which is part of verse 16, but not of verse 4 (only some manuscripts of the Septuagint include it in both verses). The Hebrew verb for knows and the noun for knowledge come from the same root. In some languages the literal expression knows the knowledge of the Most High may not be natural, so other possible renderings are “receive[s] the knowledge that comes from the Most High” (Good News Translation) and “knows what the Most High knows” (SPCL, De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling). It is also possible that this redundant Hebrew construction is an emphatic expression that means “truly [or, surely] knows what comes from the Most High.” It seems ironical that Balaam should say this about himself, since he was totally dependent on God for everything he was allowed to see and say. The Hebrew term for the Most High (ʿelyon) refers to the LORD as the greatest of all gods. For a good discussion of this title for God, see A Handbook on Genesis at Gen 14.18. Other possible models for it are “God, who is above [or, greater than] all other gods” and “the-One-who-surpasses-all-things” (Chewa).

Who sees the vision of the Almighty: See verse 4.

Falling down, but having his eyes uncovered: See verse 4.

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 .