God’s Word Translation
Numbers 21:6
6So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel 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.
Context of Numbers 21:6
4Then they moved from Mount Hor, following the road that goes to the Red Sea, in order to get around Edom. The people became impatient on the trip 5and criticized God and Moses. They said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt—just to let us die in the desert? There’s no bread or water, and we can’t stand this awful food!” So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we criticized the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake, and put it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”
Read all of Numbers 21Numbers 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 3:14So the Lord God said to the snake, “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all the wild or domestic animals. You will crawl on your belly. You will be the lowest of animals as long as you live.
- Deuteronomy 8:15He was the one who led you through that vast and dangerous desert—a thirsty and arid land, with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He was the one who made water come out of solid rock for you.
- Isaiah 14:29All you Philistines, don’t rejoice that the rod of the one who struck you is broken, because a viper will come from that snake’s root, and his descendant will be a flying, fiery serpent.
- Isaiah 30:6This is the divine revelation about the animals in the Negev. “My people travel through lands where they experience distress and hardship. Lions and lionesses live there. Vipers and poisonous snakes live there. They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels to a nation that can’t help them.
- Jeremiah 8:17“I am going to send snakes among you, vipers that can’t be charmed. They will bite you,” declares the Lord.
- Amos 9:3Even if they hide on top of Mount Carmel, I will look for them and take them from there. Even if they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will command a sea snake to bite them.
- 1 Corinthians 10:9We shouldn’t put the Lord to the test as some of them did. They were killed by snakes.
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
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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