Numbers 20:3

Numbers 20:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!
• New International Version (NIV)They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord!
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord!
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!

Context of Numbers 20:3

1In the first month, the Israelites came to the Zin desert. They put up their tents at Kadesh. Miriam died there and the people buried her. 2The people did not have any water to drink. They complained to Moses and Aaron. They said to Moses, ‘We would rather be dead! When the Lord killed our brothers, he should have killed us too. 4We are the Lord's people. Have you brought us and our animals here to die? 5You should not have brought us to this very bad place. When we were in Egypt, we had grain, figs, grapes and pomegranates. There is no food like that here! And there is no water to drink!’

Numbers 20:3 word by word

וַיָּ֥רֶב הָעָ֖ם עִם־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ לֵאמֹ֔ר וְל֥וּ גָוַ֛עְנוּ בִּגְוַ֥ע אַחֵ֖ינוּ לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• chodeרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
• with Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• and spakeאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Would God thatלוּlû' lû' lû · ifH3863
• we had diedגָּוַעgâva‛ · to dieH1478
• when our brethrenאָח'âch · brother: compatriotH251
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Numbers 20:3

• Numbers 14:1Then all the people started to weep loudly. And they cried all night.
• Exodus 16:2When they were in the desert, all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron.
• Exodus 17:2Because of this, the people quarrelled with Moses. They said, ‘Give us water to drink!’ Moses said to them, ‘You should not quarrel with me! You should not try to test the Lord!’
• Job 3:10I curse that day because it allowed me to be born. It brought me into a life of trouble.
• Numbers 11:1But the people started to complain about their problems. The Lord heard them and he became very angry. He sent fire. The Lord sent his fire to burn among them. It destroyed some parts of the camp at the edge.
• Numbers 14:36The men who had given a bad report to the people about the land of Canaan died immediately. Moses had sent them to explore the land, but they had caused all the people to turn against the Lord. So the Lord sent a bad disease to kill those men.
• Numbers 16:31When Moses finished speaking, a hole opened in the ground.
• Lamentations 4:9Our enemies have killed many people with long knives. It is better for those dead people than for the people who have no food. They are very hungry. And they die slowly because they have nothing to eat.

Commentaries on Numbers 20:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2-6Verses 2-6 The language of the murmurers is noteworthy. It has the air of a traditional remonstrance handed down from the last generation. Compare marginal references.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3our brothers: This shows that the Israelites saw themselves as connected to those who had died: Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1–5), those who died during the first plague after craving meat (Numbers 11:33), the skeptics who died in the wilderness (14:29), the ten unfaithful spies (14:36–37), Korah, Abiram, and Dathan (16:32), the 250 leaders (16:35), and the 14,700 people who died in the second plague (16:49).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-132-13. there was no water for the congregation--There was at Kadesh a fountain, En-Mishpat (Ge 14:7), and at the first encampment of the Israelites there was no want of water. It was then either partially dried up by the heat of the season, or had been exhausted by the demands of so vast a multitude.Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 20:3

• Israel
• Moses
• Murmuring
• Trouble

In the dictionaries

• God
• Moses
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Exodus
• Meribah
• Refuse
• Aaron
• Agrapha
• Chronicles, Books of
• Chronology of the Old Testament

Commentaries on Numbers 20

• 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