God’s Word Translation
Numbers 24:22
22But it is destined to be burned, you ⌞descendants of⌟ Cain, when Assyria takes you as prisoners of war.”
Numbers 24:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
- New International Version (NIV)yet you Kenites will be destroyed when Ashur takes you captive.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned when Asshur takes you away captive."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Nevertheless Kain shall be burned. How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”
Context of Numbers 24:22
20Then Balaam saw the Amalekites and delivered this message: “Amalek was first among the nations, but in the end it will be destroyed.” 21Then he saw the Kenites and delivered this message: “You have a permanent place to live. Your nest is built in a rock. But it is destined to be burned, you ⌞descendants of⌟ Cain, when Assyria takes you as prisoners of war.” 23He delivered this message: “Oh no! Who will live when God decides to do this? 24Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus. They will conquer Assyria and Eber. But they, too, will be totally destroyed.”
Read all of Numbers 24Numbers 24:22 word by word
כִּ֥י אִם־יִהְיֶ֖ה לְבָ֣עֵֽר קָ֑יִן עַד־מָ֖ה אַשּׁ֥וּר תִּשְׁבֶּֽךָּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 24:22
- Numbers 23:23No spell can curse the descendants of Jacob. No magic can harm the people of Israel. Now it will be said of Jacob and Israel: ‘See what God has done!’
- 2 Kings 5:1Naaman, the commander of the Aramean king’s army, was respected and highly honored by his master. The Lord had given Aram a victory through Naaman. This man was a good soldier, but he had a skin disease.
- Malachi 3:2But who will be able to endure the day he comes? Who will be able to survive on the day he appears? He is like a purifying fire and like a cleansing soap.
Commentaries on Numbers 24:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Until Asshur shall carry thee away captive - The Assyrians and Babylonians who carried away captive the ten tribes, 2 Kings 17:6, and the Jews into Babylon, 2 Kings 25, probably carried away the Kenites also. Indeed this seems pretty evident, as we find some Kenites mentioned among the Jews after their return from the Babylonish captivity, 1 Chronicles 2:55.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Render, For Kain shall surely not be destroyed (literally “be for destruction”) until Asshur, etc. The words are not, as they appear in the King James Version, a prediction of evil to the Kenites, but a promise, on the contrary, of safety to be long continued to them (compare Numbers 10:32; Jeremiah 35:19).Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-25Verses 15-25 Under the powerful influence of the Spirit of prophecy, Balaam foretold the future prosperity and extensive dominion of Israel. Balaam boasts that his eyes are open. The prophets were in old times called seers. He had heard the words of God, which many do who neither heed them, nor hear God in them. He knew the knowledge of the Most High. A man may be full of the knowledge of God, yet utterly destitute of the grace of God. He calls God the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-22Assyria would destroy the Kenites, a desert people living in the same areas as the Amalekites and Midianites. Moses married a Kenite (Judges 1:16; 4:11; compare Numbers 10:29–32). The Kenites were mostly friendly with Israel after that time (for example, 1 Samuel 15:6; 27:10; 30:27–30).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-251. to seek for--that is, to use enchantments. His experience on the two former occasions [Nu 23:3, 15] had taught him that these superstitious accompaniments of his worship were useless, and therefore he now simply looked towards the camp of Israel, either with a secret design to curse them, or to await the divine afflatus.Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 24:22
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 24
- 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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