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

21Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers, ‘This is the rule that the Lord told Moses: 22You must put all the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, and other metals in a fire. Put in the fire anything that the fire will not destroy. The fire will make those things clean. But you must also wash them with water. As for anything that the fire would destroy, wash them with water to make them clean. 24On the seventh day, you must wash your clothes. After that you will be clean again. Then you can come into the camp.’ 25The Lord said to Moses,

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Every thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• that may abideבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• go throughעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• and it shall be cleanטָהֵרţâhêr · be pureH2891
• nevertheless it shall be purifiedחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
• with the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• of separationנִדָּהniddâh · impurityH5079

Cross-references for Numbers 31:23

• Isaiah 43:2When you go through deep water, I will be with you. When you cross dangerous rivers, you will not drown. When you walk through fire, it will not burn you. The flames will not destroy you.
• Zechariah 13:9I will bring these people through fire. As men clean silver in the fire, so I will clean them. As men test gold in the fire, so I will test them. They will speak my name and I will answer them. I will say, “They are my people.” They will say, “The Lord is our God.” ’
• Malachi 2:2‘Listen carefully to what I say to you. You must respect my name properly. If not, I will punish you. I will no longer bless you but I will curse you. I am already doing that because you do not respect my name as you should.
• Matthew 3:11I baptize you with water. This shows that you want to change the way that you live. But another person will come soon. He is greater than I am. I am not good enough even to carry his shoes for him. This other person will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
• 1 Corinthians 3:13One day, God will show clearly how good each builder's work is. God will put each person's work into a fire on that great day. The fire will show whether their work is good or bad.
• 1 Peter 1:7The purpose of these troubles is to show whether you really trust God. When you believe in Jesus, that is more valuable even than gold. People put gold into a hot fire to see if it is really good. And even gold will come to an end one day. But if you continue to trust God in your troubles, he will be very happy. On the day when Jesus Christ returns and appears to everyone, God will praise you. He will say that you have done well. That will be great!
• 1 Peter 4:12My friends, I know that people are causing you to have bad trouble. It is like a fire that is burning you. Do not be surprised about that. These things are happening to you, to show whether you really trust God. Do not think that something strange is happening to you.
• Revelation 3:18So I tell you that you should buy gold from me. With my gold, you would be really rich. My gold is the best, because it has been through fire. You should also buy white clothes from me to dress yourselves. Then you will not be ashamed because you have no clothes. You should also buy medicine from me to put on your eyes. Then you will be able to see well.
• Numbers 8:7You will make them clean like this: Put on them the special water that makes people clean. They must remove all the hair from their whole body, and they must wash their clothes. Then they will be clean.
• Numbers 19:9Then a man who is clean must pick up all the ashes of the cow. And he must put them outside the camp in a clean place. Keep them safe there for all the Israelites. You must mix them with water to make special water. It will be water for someone who is not clean to make them holy again. It is water to remove sin.
• Leviticus 11:32A dead animal may fall onto something that someone made from wood, cloth or skin. That thing becomes unclean. A person must put it into water until the evening. Then it will be clean.
• Leviticus 15:17You must wash any clothes that semen touches. They are unclean until evening.
• Ephesians 5:26He did that to make us completely clean, as the people of God. It was like he washed us with water, as he brought God's message to us.
• 1 Peter 3:21That shows how God now saves you. It is like a picture of baptism. The water of baptism does not wash dirt from a person's body. Instead, it shows that a person has decided to obey God. He is choosing to do what is right. That saves you, because Jesus Christ became alive again after his death.

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