God’s Word Translation
Numbers 20:4
4Did you bring the Lord’s assembly into this desert just to have us and our animals die here?
Numbers 20:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
- New International Version (NIV)Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here?
Context of Numbers 20:4
2Since the community was without water, they came together to confront Moses and Aaron. 3The people complained to Moses and said, “If only we had died when the other Israelites died in the Lord’s presence! Did you bring the Lord’s assembly into this desert just to have us and our animals die here? 5Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us into this terrible place? This is no place to plant crops. Even figs, grapes, and pomegranates won’t grow here. And there’s no water to drink!” 6Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting. Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
Read all of Numbers 20Numbers 20:4 word by word
וְלָמָ֤ה הֲבֵאתֶם֙ אֶת־קְהַ֣ל יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־הַמִּדְבָּ֖ר הַזֶּ֑ה לָמ֣וּת שָׁ֔ם אֲנַ֖חְנוּ וּבְעִירֵֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 20:4
- Numbers 11:5Remember all the free fish we ate in Egypt and the cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions, and garlic we had?
- Exodus 5:21So they said, “May the Lord see what you have done and judge you! You have made Pharaoh and his officials hate us. You have given them an excuse to kill us.”
- Exodus 17:3But the people were thirsty for water there. They complained to Moses and asked, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to make us, our children, and our livestock die of thirst?”
- Psalms 106:21They forgot God, their savior, the one who did spectacular things in Egypt,
- Acts 7:35“This is the Moses whom the Israelites rejected by saying, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge?’ This is the one God sent to free them and to rule them with the help of the Messenger who appeared to him in the bush.
- Numbers 16:13Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey only to kill us in the desert? Do you also have to order us around?
- Exodus 14:11They said to Moses, “Did you bring us out into the desert to die because there were no graves in Egypt? Look what you’ve done by bringing us out of Egypt!
- Exodus 16:3The Israelites said to them, “If only the Lord had let us die in Egypt! There we sat by our pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted! You brought us out into this desert to let us all starve to death!”
Commentaries on Numbers 20:4
- 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. 2-13The people of Israel complained again about not having water and food (compare 11:4–35; 21:4–5; Exodus 15:22–25). So, Moses and Aaron disobeyed the Lord. As a result, they lost the privilege of entering the promised land.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 20:4
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries