American Standard Version
Numbers 23:10
10Who can count the dust of Jacob,Or number the fourth part of Israel?Let me die the death of the righteous,And let my last end be like his!
Numbers 23:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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!
- New International Version (NIV)Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my final end be like theirs!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!"
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!”
Context of Numbers 23:10
8How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied? 9For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him: Lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, Or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my last end be like his! 11And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. 12And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah putteth in my mouth?
Read all of Numbers 23Numbers 23:10 word by word
מִ֤י מָנָה֙ עֲפַ֣ר יַעֲקֹ֔ב וּמִסְפָּ֖ר אֶת־רֹ֣בַע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל תָּמֹ֤ת נַפְשִׁי֙ מ֣וֹת יְשָׁרִ֔ים וּתְהִ֥י אַחֲרִיתִ֖י כָּמֹֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Numbers 23:10
- Genesis 13:16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then may thy seed also be numbered.
- Genesis 22:17that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
- Genesis 28:14and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
- Numbers 2:9All that were numbered of the camp of Judah were a hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, according to their hosts. They shall set forth first.
- Psalms 37:37Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; For there is ahappyend to the man of peace.
- Psalms 116:15Precious in the sight of Jehovah Is the death of his saints.
- Proverbs 14:32The wicked is thrust down in his evil-doing; But the righteous hath a refuge in his death.
- Isaiah 57:1The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
- Luke 2:29Now lettest thou thy servant depart, Lord, According to thy word, in peace;
- 1 Corinthians 3:21Wherefore let no one glory in men. For all things are yours;
- 1 Corinthians 15:53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
- 2 Corinthians 5:1For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
- Philippians 1:21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
- 2 Timothy 4:6For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come.
- 2 Peter 1:13And I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
- Revelation 14:13And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.
Commentaries on Numbers 23:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Let me die the death of the righteous - Probably Balaam had some presentiment that he should be taken off by a premature death, and therefore he lodges this petition against it. The death of the righteous in those times implied being gathered to one's fathers in a good old age, having seen his children, and children's children; and to this, probably, the latter part of this petition applies: And let my last end be like his, (כמהו אחריתי ותהי uthehi…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10The fourth part of Israel - i. e., each one of the four camps, into which the host of Israel was divided (see Genesis 13:16; Genesis 28:14. The righteous - i. e., the ancestors of Israel, who “died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off” Hebrews 11:13. With their histories Balaam was familiar, particularly with that of Abraham, “the righteous man” whom God had “raised up from the east (and) called to His foot” Isaiah…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-10In his first message from God, Balaam reviewed why he had come to Moab (23:5, 16). He explained how Balak had called him. He also stressed that God had a special relationship with Israel. Balaam made clear that he could not harm Israel because God was protecting them. These messages are written as poetry. Hebrew poetry often uses parallelism. Parallelism places two similar lines together. The second line repeats or strengthens the first line in a clear…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. Who can count the dust of Jacob?--an Oriental hyperbole for a very populous nation, as Jacob's posterity was promised to be (Ge 13:16; 28:14). the number of the fourth part of Israel--that is, the camp consisted of four divisions; every one of these parts was formidable in numbers. Let me die the death of the righteous--Hebrew, "of Jeshurun"; or, the Israelites. The meaning is: they are a people happy, above all others, not only in life, but at death…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 23:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 23
- 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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries