Numbers 23:10

Or number the fourth part of Israel involves a necessary emendation, the Heb. text (represented in R.V. marg.) being scarcely translateable.

For -the fourth part" (רֹבַע) some would read -the myriads" (רִבְבֹת), or perhaps, as LXX. suggests, -the multitude of the peopleof Israel" (רֹב עַם י״).

Let me die lit. may my soul, or my life, die.

the death of the upright ones] The plural adjective refers to Israel who are ideally considered as a nation of upright men. The singular pronoun at the end of the verse refers to the nation as a single whole.

There is no reference in the final words to a future life; it is a poetical parallel to the preceding clause. Balaam prays that the close of his life may be the peaceful end enjoyed by good men.