Numbers 23:24

Numbers 23:24 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
• New International Version (NIV)The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till it devours its prey and drinks the blood of its victims.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Look, a people rises like a lioness, And lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.”

Context of Numbers 23:24

22God brought them out of Egypt; he is like the horns of a wild ox for them. 23There is no magic curse against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said about Jacob and Israel, “What great things God has done!” A people rise up like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion. They will not lie down until they devour the prey and drink the blood of the slain. 25Then Balak told Balaam, “Don’t curse them and don’t bless them!” 26But Balaam answered him, “Didn’t I tell you: Whatever the Lord says, I must do?”

Numbers 23:24 word by word

הֶן־עָם֙ כְּלָבִ֣יא יָק֔וּם וְכַאֲרִ֖י יִתְנַשָּׂ֑א לֹ֤א יִשְׁכַּב֙ עַד־יֹ֣אכַל טֶ֔רֶף וְדַם־חֲלָלִ֖ים יִשְׁתֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Behold, the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• shall rise upקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
• as a great lionלָבִיאlâbîy' lebîyâ' lebâ'îym lebâ'ôth · lionH3833
• and lift upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
• himself as a young lionאֲרִי'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
• he shall not lie downשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• until he eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• the preyטֶ֫רֶףţereph · preyH2964
• and drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• the bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• of the slainחָלָלchâlâl · slain: killedH2491

Cross-references for Numbers 23:24

• Numbers 24:8God brought him out of Egypt; he is like the horns of a wild ox for them. He will feed on enemy nations and gnaw their bones; he will strike them with his arrows.
• Genesis 49:9Judah is a young lion — my son, you return from the kill. He crouches; he lies down like a lion or a lioness — who dares to rouse him?
• Deuteronomy 33:20He said about Gad: The one who enlarges Gad’s territory will be blessed. He lies down like a lion and tears off an arm or even a head.
• Psalms 17:12They are like a lion eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush.
• Proverbs 30:30a lion, which is mightiest among beasts and doesn’t retreat before anything;
• Isaiah 31:4For this is what the Lord said to me: As a lion or young lion growls over its prey when a band of shepherds is called out against it, and it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their noise, so the Lord of Armies will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.
• Amos 3:8A lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who will not prophesy?
• Revelation 5:5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
• Numbers 24:17I see him, but not now; I perceive him, but not near. A star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will smash the forehead of Moab and strike down all the Shethites.
• Genesis 49:27Benjamin is a wolf; he tears his prey. In the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the plunder.”
• Daniel 2:44“In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.
• Micah 5:8Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, among many peoples, like a lion among animals of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which tramples and tears as it passes through, and there is no one to rescue them.
• Zechariah 10:4The cornerstone, the tent peg, the battle bow, and every ruler — all will go out from him together.
• Zechariah 12:6On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem.
• Revelation 19:11Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war.

Commentaries on Numbers 23:24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion - לביא labi, the great, mighty, or old lion, the king of the forest, who is feared and respected by all the other beasts of the field; so shall Israel be the subduer and possessor of the whole land of Canaan. And as a young lion, ארי ari from ארה arah, to tear off, the predatory lion, or the lion in the act of seizing and tearing his prey; - the nations against whom the Israelites are now going shall be no…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-30Verses 11-30 Balak was angry with Balaam. Thus a confession of God's overruling power is extorted from a wicked prophet, to the confusion of a wicked prince. A second time the curse is turned into a blessing; and this blessing is both larger and stronger than the former. Men change their minds, and break their words; but God never changes his mind, and therefore never recalls his promise. And when in Scripture he is said to repent, it does not mean any…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-24No curse could overpower Israel because God blessed them (Numbers 22:12; compare Genesis 12:2–3; 22:17–18). Israel was safe from the harm that Moab and Midian tried to cause through divination (compare Numbers 24:1). Israel would become famous because God protected them from harm (see Joshua 2:9–11; compare Numbers 14:13–19).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-301. Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars--Balak, being a heathen, would naturally suppose these altars were erected in honor of Baal, the patron deity of his country. It is evident, from Nu 23:4 that they were prepared for the worship of the true God; although in choosing the high places of Baal as their site and rearing a number of altars (2Ki 18:22; Is 17:8; Jr 11:13; Ho 8:11; 10:1), instead of one only, as God had appointed, Balaam blended…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 23:24

• Pisgah

In the dictionaries

• Count
• Lions
• Abel-Shittim
• Balaam
• Balak
• Bless
• Charm
• Divination
• Genealogy
• Lion

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