This verse is often misinterpreted as evidence of Balaam's personal conversion or inherent righteousness, suggesting he fully embraced Israel's God and achieved a holy death; in reality, while his oracle truthfully conveys God's favor on Israel, Balaam's heart remained greedy for reward, as shown by his later counsel to Moab to seduce Israel into sin and his own violent end among Israel's enemies, illustrating that compelled words do not equate to transformed character.
Numbers 23:10
King James Version (1769)
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
Balaam, despite being hired to curse Israel, is compelled by God to bless them instead, marveling at their vast multitude compared to the uncountable dust of Jacob as promised to Abraham, and expressing a desire to share the righteous end of God's people, which underscores the irresistible sovereignty of divine blessing on Israel and the recognition that true prosperity and a blessed death come from alignment with God's will rather than human schemes.