Numbers 31:23

Numbers 31:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.
• New International Version (NIV)and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water.
• English Standard Version (ESV)everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water.
• New King James Version (NKJV)everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; and it shall be purified with the water of purification. But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water.

Context of Numbers 31:23

21And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war that went to the battle, This is the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded Moses: 22howbeit the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make to go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water for impurity: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make to go through the water. 24And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean; and afterward ye shall come into the camp. 25And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

Numbers 31:23 word by word

כָּל־דָּבָ֞ר אֲשֶׁר־יָבֹ֣א בָאֵ֗שׁ תַּעֲבִ֤ירוּ בָאֵשׁ֙ וְטָהֵ֔ר אַ֕ךְ בְּמֵ֥י נִדָּ֖ה יִתְחַטָּ֑א וְכֹ֨ל אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹֽא־יָבֹ֛א בָּאֵ֖שׁ תַּעֲבִ֥ירוּ בַמָּֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

• everythingכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• goבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• cleanטָהֵרţâhêr · be pureH2891
• neverthelessאַךְ'ak · surelyH389
• waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• impurityנִדָּהniddâh · impurityH5079

Cross-references for Numbers 31:23

• Isaiah 43:2When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
• Zechariah 13:9And I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, Jehovah is my God.
• Malachi 2:2If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
• Matthew 3:11I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire:
• 1 Corinthians 3:13each man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man’s work of what sort it is.
• 1 Peter 1:7that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ:
• 1 Peter 4:12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened unto you:
• Revelation 3:18I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.
• Numbers 8:7And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of expiation upon them, and let them cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.
• Numbers 19:9And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place; and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water for impurity: it is a sin-offering.
• Leviticus 11:32And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherewith any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; then shall it be clean.
• Leviticus 15:17And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.
• Ephesians 5:26that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,
• 1 Peter 3:21which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ;

Commentaries on Numbers 31:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23The water of separation - The water in which the ashes of the red heifer were mingled; See Numbers 8:7; (note), Numbers 19:2; (note), etc. Garments, whether of cloth or skins, were to be washed. Gold, silver, brass, iron, tin, and lead, to pass through the fire, probably to be melted down.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-24Verses 19-24 The Israelites had to purify themselves according to the law, and to abide without the camp seven days, though they had not contracted any moral guilt, the war being just and lawful, and commanded by God. Thus God would preserve in their minds a dread and detestation of shedding blood. The spoil had been used by Midianites, and being now come into the possession of Israelites, it was fit that it should be purified.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-24Israelite soldiers who touched dead bodies became ceremonially unclean (ritually impure). They had to go through the required purification rituals. These rituals were routine, but they were important. They also had to purify their equipment (see 5:1–4; 19:1–22).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2419-24. abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person ... purify both yourselves and your captives--Though the Israelites had taken the field in obedience to the command of God, they had become defiled by contact with the dead. A process of purification was to be undergone, as the law required (Le 15:13; Nu 19:9-12), and this purifying ceremony was extended to dress, houses, tents, to everything on which a dead body had lain, which…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 31:23

• Armies
• Purification
• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• Water of separation
• Jericho
• Prey
• Purify
• Abel-Shittim
• Balaam
• Cleanse
• Fire
• Heifer, Red
• Moses

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