English Standard Version
Numbers 21:27
27Therefore the ballad singers say, "Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established.
Numbers 21:27 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:
- New International Version (NIV)That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt; let Sihon’s city be restored.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore those who speak in proverbs say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; Let the city of Sihon be repaired.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Therefore, the ancient poets wrote this about him: “Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt! Let the city of Sihon be restored.
Context of Numbers 21:27
25And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. Therefore the ballad singers say, "Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established. 28For fire came out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon. It devoured Ar of Moab, and swallowed the heights of the Arnon. 29Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters captives, to an Amorite king, Sihon.
Read all of Numbers 21Numbers 21:27 word by word
עַל־כֵּ֛ן יֹאמְר֥וּ הַמֹּשְׁלִ֖ים בֹּ֣אוּ חֶשְׁבּ֑וֹן תִּבָּנֶ֥ה וְתִכּוֹנֵ֖ן עִ֥יר סִיחֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Wherefore they that speak in proverbsמָשַׁלmâshal · to use a proverbH4911
- sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- into Heshbonחֶשְׁבּוֹןcheshbôn · HeshbonH2809
- let the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- of Sihonסִיחוֹןsîychôn sîychôn · SihonH5511
- be builtבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
- and preparedכּוּןkûn · to establish: makeH3559
Cross-references for Numbers 21:27
- Numbers 21:14Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord, "Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,
- Isaiah 14:4you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: "How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased!
- Habakkuk 2:6Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, "Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own— for how long?— and loads himself with pledges!"
Commentaries on Numbers 21:27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27They that speak in proverbs - המשלים hammoshelim, from משל mashal, to rule, to exercise authority; hence a weighty proverbial saying, because admitted as an axiom for the government of life. The moshelim of the ancient Asiatics were the same, in all probability, as the Poetae among the Greeks and Latins, the shaara among the Arabs, who were esteemed as Divine persons, and who had their name from shaara, he knew, understood; whose poems celebrated past…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27They that speak in proverbs - The original word is almost equivalent to “the poets.” The word supplies the title of the Book of Proverbs itself; and is used of the parable proper in Ezekiel 17:2; of the prophecies of Balsam in Numbers 23:7-10; Numbers 24:3-9; etc.; and of a song of triumph over Babylon in Isaiah 14:4.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-35Verses 21-35 Sihon went with his forces against Israel, out of his own borders, without provocation, and so ran upon his own ruin. The enemies of God's church often perish by the counsels they think most wisely taken. Og, king of Bashan, instead of being warned by the fate of his neighbours, to make peace with Israel, makes war with them, which proves in like manner his destruction. Wicked men do their utmost to secure themselves and their possessions…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 27-30This ancient song may have been an old Amorite ballad about the victories of King Sihon. It may have celebrated his power and success. Other interpreters believe that Israelite singers wrote the song later. In this view, it was a taunt song meant to mock Sihon’s defeat and celebrate Israel’s victory. The flow of the story from Numbers 21:26 to 21:27 supports the first view. Israel may have taken an older Amorite song and applied it to their own victory…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 27-3027-30. Wherefore they that speak in proverbs--Here is given an extract from an Amorite song exultingly anticipating an extension of their conquests to Arnon. The quotation from the poem of the Amorite bard ends at Nu 21:28. The two following verses appear to be the strains in which the Israelites expose the impotence of the usurpers.Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 21:27
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 21
- 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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