Numbers 21:6

Numbers 21:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
• New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
• New Living Translation (NLT)So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died.

Context of Numbers 21:6

4From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food." Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7And the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8And the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live."

Numbers 21:6 word by word

וַיְשַׁלַּ֨ח יְהוָ֜ה בָּעָ֗ם אֵ֚ת הַנְּחָשִׁ֣ים הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים וַֽיְנַשְּׁכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיָּ֥מָת עַם־רָ֖ב מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• fieryשָׂרָףώârâph · serpentH8314
• serpentsנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175
• among the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• and they bitנָשַׁךְnâshak · to biteH5391
• and muchרַבrab · manyH7227
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for Numbers 21:6

• Genesis 3:14The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
• Deuteronomy 8:15who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock,
• Isaiah 14:29Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.
• Isaiah 30:6An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.
• Jeremiah 8:17For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you," declares the Lord.
• Amos 9:3If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
• 1 Corinthians 10:9We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,

Commentaries on Numbers 21:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Fiery serpents - השרפים הנחשים hannechashim hasseraphim . I have observed before, on Gen. iii., that it is difficult to assign a name to the creature termed in Hebrew nachash ; it has different significations, but its meaning here and in Gen. iii. is most difficult to be ascertained. Seraphim is one of the orders of angelic beings, Isaiah 6:2, Isaiah 6:6; but as it comes from the root שרף saraph, which signifies to burn, it has been translated fiery in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Fiery serpents - The epithet Deuteronomy 8:15; Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 30:6 denotes the inflammatory effect of their bite. The peninsula of Sinai, and not least, the Arabah, abounds in mottled snakes of large size, marked with fiery red spots and wavy stripes, which belong to the most poisonous species, as the formation of the teeth clearly show.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-9Verses 4-9 The children of Israel were wearied by a long march round the land of Edom. They speak discontentedly of what God had done for them, and distrustfully of what he would do. What will they be pleased with, whom manna will not please? Let not the contempt which some cast on the word of God, make us value it less. It is the bread of life, substantial bread, and will nourish those who by faith feed upon it, to eternal life, whoever may call it light…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6This entire region has been, and still is, home to very venomous snakes (compare Isaiah 30:6).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people--That part of the desert where the Israelites now were--near the head of the gulf of Akaba--is greatly infested with venomous reptiles, of various kinds, particularly lizards, which raise themselves in the air and swing themselves from branches; and scorpions, which, being in the habit of lying in long grass, are particularly dangerous to the barelegged, sandaled people of the East. The only known remedy…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 21:6

• Animals
• Blasphemy
• Intercession
• Israel
• Judgments
• Miracles
• Moses
• Murmuring
• Plague
• Repentance
• Salvation
• Serpent

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Behold
• Brass
• Exodus
• Murmuring
• Seraphim
• Serpent, Fiery
• Spy

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