Numbers 31:2

Numbers 31:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
• New International Version (NIV)“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people."
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

Context of Numbers 31:2

1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take vengeance for the Israelites on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people [in death].” 3Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, so that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian [for seducing Israel to participate in idolatry]. 4A thousand [fighting men] from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.”

Numbers 31:2 word by word

נְקֹ֗ם נִקְמַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מֵאֵ֖ת הַמִּדְיָנִ֑ים אַחַ֖ר תֵּאָסֵ֥ף אֶל־עַמֶּֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Avengeנְקָמָהneqâmâh · vengeanceH5360
• Avengeנָקַםnâqam · to avengeH5358
• the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• of the Midianitesמִדְיָנִיmidyânîy · MidianiteH4084
• afterwardאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• shalt thou be gatheredאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622
• unto thy peopleעַם‛am · kinsmanH5971

Cross-references for Numbers 31:2

• Numbers 31:3Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, so that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian [for seducing Israel to participate in idolatry].
• Numbers 25:17“Provoke hostilities with the Midianites and attack them,
• Deuteronomy 32:35Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their disaster is at hand, And their doom hurries to meet them.’
• Judges 16:24When the people saw Samson, they praised their god, for they said, “Our god has handed over our enemy to us, The ravager of our country, Who has killed many of us.”
• Psalms 94:1O Lord God, You to whom vengeance belongs, O God, You to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth [in judgment]!
• Isaiah 1:24Therefore the Lord God of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be freed of My adversaries And avenge Myself on My enemies.
• Nahum 1:2The Lord is a jealous and avenging God [protecting and demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His]; The Lord avenges and He is full of wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.
• Luke 21:22for these are days of vengeance [of rendering full justice or satisfaction], so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
• Romans 12:19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God’s wrath [and His judicial righteousness]; for it is written [in Scripture], “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
• Romans 13:4For he is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, [you should] be afraid; for he does not carry the [executioner’s] sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an avenger who brings punishment on the wrongdoer.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:6and that [in this matter of sexual misconduct] no man shall transgress and defraud his brother because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we have told you before and solemnly warned you.
• Hebrews 10:30For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine [retribution and the deliverance of justice rest with Me], I will repay [the wrongdoer].” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
• Revelation 6:10They cried in a loud voice, saying, “O Lord, holy and true, how long now before You will sit in judgment and avenge our blood on those [unregenerate ones] who dwell on the earth?”
• Revelation 18:20Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints (God’s people) and apostles and prophets [who were martyred], because God has executed vengeance for you [through righteous judgment] upon her.”
• Revelation 19:2because His judgments are true and righteous. He has judged [convicted and pronounced sentence on] the great prostitute (idolatress) who was corrupting and ruining and poisoning the earth with her adultery (idolatry), and He has imposed the penalty for the blood of His bond-servants on her.”
• Numbers 25:6Then one of the Israelites came and presented to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping [over God’s judgment] at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).

Commentaries on Numbers 31:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Gathered unto thy people - Where? Not in the grave surely. Moses was gathered with none of them, his burial-place no man ever knew. "But being gathered unto one's people means dying." It does imply dying, but it does not mean this only. The truth is, God considers all those who are dead to men in a state of conscious existence in another world. Therefore he calls himself the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; now God is not the God of the dead…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The Midianites - The Moabites are not included. It would thus seem that it was the Midianites, and they only, who deliberately set themselves to work the corruption of Israel.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2The Lord instructed Moses to lead Israel in a war against the Midianites. The Midianites had joined the Moabites in influencing the Hebrews to worship idols (chapter 25). The Midianites were a tribal people living in the dry regions south and east of Palestine and east of the Jordan River. They were among the "people of the east" (Judges 6:3, 33; 7:12). They lived in camps or settlements and were famous for their desert transportation skills (compare…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-541-2. the Lord spake unto Moses, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites--a semi-nomad people, descended from Abraham and Keturah, occupying a tract of country east and southeast of Moab, which lay on the eastern coast of the Dead Sea. They seem to have been the principal instigators of the infamous scheme of seduction, planned to entrap the Israelites into the double crime of idolatry and licentiousness [Nu 25:1-3, 17, 18] by which, it was hoped…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 31:2

• Moses

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Prey
• Purify
• Abel-Shittim
• Balaam
• Hur
• Midian; Midianites

Commentaries on Numbers 31

• 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