Amplified Bible
Numbers 11:23
23The Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand (ability, power) limited (short, inadequate)? You shall see now whether My word will come to pass for you or not.”
Numbers 11:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.
- New International Version (NIV)The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said to Moses, "Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.”
Context of Numbers 11:23
21But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 [fighting men] on foot [besides all the women and children]; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat it for a whole month!’ 22Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be collected for them to be sufficient for them?” The Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand (ability, power) limited (short, inadequate)? You shall see now whether My word will come to pass for you or not.” 24So Moses went out and spoke to the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered seventy men from among the elders of the people and stationed them around the Tent (tabernacle). 25Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took some of the Spirit who was upon Moses and put Him upon the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied [praising God and declaring His will], but they did not do it again.
Read all of Numbers 11Numbers 11:23 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה הֲיַ֥ד יְהוָ֖ה תִּקְצָ֑ר עַתָּ֥ה תִרְאֶ֛ה הֲיִקְרְךָ֥ דְבָרִ֖י אִם־לֹֽא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 11:23
- Genesis 18:14Is anything too difficult or too wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes, I will return to you and Sarah will have a son.”
- Psalms 78:41Again and again they tempted God, And distressed the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 50:2Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]? Or have I no power to rescue? Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a desert; Their fish stink because there is no water And die of thirst.
- Isaiah 59:1Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save, Nor His ear so impaired That it cannot hear.
- Micah 2:7Is it being said, O house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient? Or are these [prophesied judgments] His doings?’ Do not My words do good To the one walking uprightly?
- Matthew 19:26But Jesus looked at them and said, “With people [as far as it depends on them] it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- Luke 1:37For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.”
- Numbers 23:19God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?
- 2 Kings 7:2Then the royal officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “If the Lord should make windows in heaven [for the rain], could this thing take place?” Elisha said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but [because you doubt] you will not eat of it.”
- Jeremiah 44:28Yet a small number [of My choosing] who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs.
- Ezekiel 12:25For I the Lord will speak, and whatever word I speak will be accomplished. It will no longer be delayed, for in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and I will fulfill it,” says the Lord God.’ ”
- Ezekiel 24:14I the Lord have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not have compassion and I will not be sorry; in accordance with your ways and in accordance with your deeds I will judge and punish you,” says the Lord God.’ ”
- Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Commentaries on Numbers 11:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Is the Lord's hand waxed short? - Hast thou forgotten the miracles which I have already performed? or thinkest thou that my power is decreased? The power that is unlimited can never be diminished.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4-35Verses 4-35 Occurrences at Kibroth-hattavah. Numbers 11:4 The mixt multitude - The word in the original resembles our “riff-raff,” and denotes a mob of people scraped together. It refers here to the multitude of strangers (see Exodus 12:38) who had followed the Israelites from Egypt. Numbers 11:5 The natural dainties of Egypt are set forth in this passage with the fullness and relish which bespeak personal experience. Numbers 11:6-7 There is nothing at…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-23Verses 16-23 Moses is to choose such as he knew to be elders, that is, wise and experienced men. God promises to qualify them. If they were not found fit for the employ, they should be made fit. Even the discontented people shall be gratified too, that every mouth may be stopped. See here, I. The vanity of all the delights of sense; they will cloy, but they will not satisfy. Spiritual pleasures alone will satisfy and last. As the world passes away, so do…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-30Jethro suggested that Moses should have different levels of judges (Exodus 18:13–26). He focused on practical issues like the tribal leaders who helped Moses with the registration (Numbers 1:5–15). In contrast, the group of 70 elders would give Israel spiritual guidance. They needed a share of God's Spirit. Moses already had this, and it made him the Lord's special spokesman. Their ability to lead depended on God's Spirit being with them (compare 1 Samuel…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-2321-23. Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand ... Shall the flocks and herds be slain for them, to suffice them?--The great leader, struck with a promise so astonishing as that of suddenly furnishing, in the midst of the desert, more than two millions of people with flesh for a whole month, betrayed an incredulous spirit, surprising in one who had witnessed so many stupendous miracles. But it is probable that it was only a…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 11:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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