American Standard Version
Numbers 24:23
23And he took up his parable, and said,
Alas, who shall live when God doeth this?
Numbers 24:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
- New International Version (NIV)Then he spoke his message: “Alas! Who can live when God does this?
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he took up his discourse and said, "Alas, who shall live when God does this?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall live when God does this?
Context of Numbers 24:23
21And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, And thy nest is set in the rock. 22Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, Until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this? 24But shipsshall comefrom the coast of Kittim, And they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber; And he also shall come to destruction. 25And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.
Read all of Numbers 24Numbers 24:23 word by word
וַיִּשָּׂ֥א מְשָׁל֖וֹ וַיֹּאמַ֑ר א֕וֹי מִ֥י יִחְיֶ֖ה מִשֻּׂמ֥וֹ אֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Numbers 24:23
- Genesis 10:4And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
- Isaiah 23:1The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Kittim it is revealed to them.
- Daniel 7:19Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet;
- Daniel 8:5And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
- Daniel 10:20Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.
- Daniel 11:30For ships of Kittim shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and shall do his pleasure: he shall even return, and have regard unto them that forsake the holy covenant.
- Genesis 10:21And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.
- Genesis 14:13And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew: now he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were confederate with Abram.
- Daniel 9:26And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined.
- Matthew 24:15When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand),
- Luke 20:24Show me a denarius. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they said, Cæsar’s.
- Luke 23:29For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck.
- John 11:48If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.
- Daniel 2:35Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
- Daniel 7:23Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
- Daniel 11:45And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
Commentaries on Numbers 24:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Who shall live when God doeth this! - There are two senses in which these words may be taken: - That the event is so distant that none then alive could possibly live to see it. That the times would be so distressing and desolating that scarcely any should be able to escape. The words are very similar to those of our Lord, and probably are to be taken in the same sense: "Wo to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days."Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23When God doeth this - The eventual carrying away of the allies of Israel by Assyria presented itself to Balaam as the ruin of all peace and safety upon earth. One prediction was howerer, yet wanting, and is next given, namely, that the conquerors of the Kenites should fare no better than the Kenites themselves.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-25Verses 15-25 Under the powerful influence of the Spirit of prophecy, Balaam foretold the future prosperity and extensive dominion of Israel. Balaam boasts that his eyes are open. The prophets were in old times called seers. He had heard the words of God, which many do who neither heed them, nor hear God in them. He knew the knowledge of the Most High. A man may be full of the knowledge of God, yet utterly destitute of the grace of God. He calls God the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23This verse is similar to 22:12 and summarizes the lesson of the entire event.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. who shall live when God doeth this!--Few shall escape the desolation that shall send a Nebuchadnezzar to scourge all those regions.Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 24:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 24
- 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