Darby Bible
Numbers 33:55
55But if ye will not dispossess the inhabitants of the land from before you, those that ye let remain of them shall be thorns in your eyes, and pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell.
Numbers 33:55 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
- New International Version (NIV)“ ‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.
Context of Numbers 33:55
53and ye shall take possession of the land, and dwell therein, for to you have I given the land to possess it. 54And ye shall take for yourselves the land as an inheritance by lot according to your families: to the many ye shall increase their inheritance, and to the few thou shalt diminish their inheritance: where the lot falleth to him, there shall be each man's [inheritance]; according to the tribes of your fathers shall ye take for yourselves the inheritance. But if ye will not dispossess the inhabitants of the land from before you, those that ye let remain of them shall be thorns in your eyes, and pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell. 56And it shall come to pass that I will do unto you as I thought to do unto them.
Read all of Numbers 33Numbers 33:55 word by word
וְאִם־לֹ֨א תוֹרִ֜ישׁוּ אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י הָאָרֶץ֮ מִפְּנֵיכֶם֒ וְהָיָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תּוֹתִ֣ירוּ מֵהֶ֔ם לְשִׂכִּים֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם וְלִצְנִינִ֖ם בְּצִדֵּיכֶ֑ם וְצָרֲר֣וּ אֶתְכֶ֔ם עַל־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֖ם יֹשְׁבִ֥ים בָּֽהּ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Numbers 33:55
- Exodus 23:33They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; for if thou serve their gods, it is sure to be a snare unto thee.
- Deuteronomy 7:4for he will turn away thy son from following me, and they will serve other gods, and the anger of Jehovah will be kindled against you, and he will destroy thee quickly.
- Joshua 23:12For if ye in any wise go back, and cleave unto the residue of these nations, these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and come in unto them and they unto you:
- Judges 1:21And the children of Benjamin did not dispossess the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
- Judges 2:3Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [scourges] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
- Psalms 106:34They did not destroy the peoples, as Jehovah commanded them;
- Ezekiel 28:24And there shall be no more a wounding sting for the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn, among all that were round about them, that despised them: and they shall know that I [am] the Lord Jehovah.
Commentaries on Numbers 33:55
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 55Shall be pricks in your eyes - Under these metaphors, the continual mischief that should be done to them, both in soul and body, by these idolaters, is set forth in a very expressive manner. What can be more vexatious than a continual goading of each side, so that the attempt to avoid the one throws the body more forcibly on the other? And what can be more distressing than a continual pricking in the eye, harassing the mind, tormenting the body, and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 50-56Verses 50-56 The expulsion of the Canaanites and the destruction of their monuments of idolatry had been already enjoined (see the marginal references); and Numbers 33:54 is substantially a repetition from Numbers 33:55-56 is new. A call for it had been furnished by their past transgressions in the matter of Baal-peor, and by their imperfect fulfillment, at the first, of Moses‘ orders in the Midianite war.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 50-56Verses 50-56 Now that they were to pass over Jordan, they were entering again into temptation to follow idols; and they are threatened that, if they spared either the idols or the idolaters, their sin would certainly be their punishment. They would foster vipers in their own bosoms. The remnant of the Canaanites, if they made any peace with them, though but for a time, would be pricks in their eyes, and thorns in their sides. We must expect trouble and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 55-56Israel did not follow God's instructions. So, they suffered the consequences predicted here (33:51–53; see Judges 1:1–2:5; 2:11–3:6). Israel’s enemies in the period of the judges were like "barbs … and thorns" (Numbers 33:55). Their enemies caused them military and spiritual trouble (compare 2 Corinthians 12:7).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5555. But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you--No associations were to be formed with the inhabitants; otherwise, "if ye let remain, they will be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides"--that is, they would prove troublesome and dangerous neighbors, enticing to idolatry, and consequently depriving you of the divine favor and blessing. The neglect of the counsel against union with the idolatrous inhabitants became…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 33:55
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 33
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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