Christian Standard Bible
Numbers 11:23
23The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm weak? Now you will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”
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 replied, “I’m in the middle of a people with six hundred thousand foot soldiers, yet you say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ 22If flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?” The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm weak? Now you will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.” 24Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought seventy men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. 25Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit who was on Moses and placed the Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did 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 impossible for the Lord? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.”
- Psalms 78:41They constantly tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 50:2Why was no one there when I came? Why was there no one to answer when I called? Is my arm too weak to redeem? Or do I have no power to rescue? Look, I dry up the sea by my rebuke; I turn the rivers into a wilderness; their fish rot because of lack of water and die of thirst.
- Isaiah 59:1Indeed, the Lord’s arm is not too weak to save, and his ear is not too deaf to hear.
- Micah 2:7House of Jacob, should it be asked, “Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient? Are these the things he does?” Don’t my words bring good to the one who walks uprightly?
- Matthew 19:26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- Luke 1:37For nothing will be impossible with God.”
- Numbers 23:19God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?
- 2 Kings 7:2Then the captain, the king’s right-hand man, responded to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” Elisha announced, “You will in fact see it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat any of it.”
- Jeremiah 44:28Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah only few in number, and the whole remnant of Judah, the ones going to the land of Egypt to stay there for a while, will know whose word stands, mine or theirs!
- Ezekiel 12:25But I, the Lord, will speak whatever message I will speak, and it will be done. It will no longer be delayed. For in your days, rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”
- Ezekiel 24:14I, the Lord, have spoken. It is coming, and I will do it! I will not refrain, I will not show pity, and I will not relent. I will judge you according to your ways and deeds. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’”
- Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never 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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