Numbers 33:55

Numbers 33:55 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
• New International Version (NIV)“ ‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.

Context of Numbers 33:55

53Take possession of the land and live there, because I will give it to you for your own. 54Divide the land among your families by drawing lots. Give more land to larger families and less land to smaller ones. The land must be given to each family by drawing lots. Divide it among your ancestors’ tribes. “ ‘But if you do not force out those who live in the land, they will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will constantly fight with you over the land you live in. 56Then I will do to you what I planned to do to them.’ ”

Numbers 33:55 word by word

וְאִם־לֹ֨א תוֹרִ֜ישׁוּ אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י הָאָרֶץ֮ מִפְּנֵיכֶם֒ וְהָיָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תּוֹתִ֣ירוּ מֵהֶ֔ם לְשִׂכִּים֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם וְלִצְנִינִ֖ם בְּצִדֵּיכֶ֑ם וְצָרֲר֣וּ אֶתְכֶ֔ם עַל־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֖ם יֹשְׁבִ֥ים בָּֽהּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But if ye will not drive outיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
• the inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• from beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remainיָתַרyâthar · to remainH3498
• pricksשֵׂךְώêk · thornH7899
• in your eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• and thornsצָנִיןtsânîyn tsânin · thornH6796
• in your sidesצַדtsad · sideH6654
• and shall vexצָרַרtsârar · to vexH6887

Cross-references for Numbers 33:55

• Exodus 23:33Never let them live in your land, or they will make you sin against me and trap you into serving their gods.”
• Deuteronomy 7:4These people will turn your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the Lord will get very angry with you and will quickly destroy you.
• Joshua 23:12“But if you turn away and go along with the other nations within your ⌞borders⌟, if you intermarry with them or associate with them,
• Judges 1:21The men of Benjamin did not force out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. The Jebusites still live with the tribe of Benjamin in Jerusalem today.
• Judges 2:3So I have this to say, ‘I will not force them out of your way. They will be like thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a trap for you.’ ”
• Psalms 106:34They did not destroy the people as the Lord had told them.
• Ezekiel 28:24The nation of Israel will no longer be hurt by prickly thorns or sharp briars from everyone around them. Then they will know that I am the Almighty Lord.

Commentaries on Numbers 33:55

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 55Shall be pricks in your eyes - Under these metaphors, the continual mischief that should be done to them, both in soul and body, by these idolaters, is set forth in a very expressive manner. What can be more vexatious than a continual goading of each side, so that the attempt to avoid the one throws the body more forcibly on the other? And what can be more distressing than a continual pricking in the eye, harassing the mind, tormenting the body, and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 50-56Verses 50-56 The expulsion of the Canaanites and the destruction of their monuments of idolatry had been already enjoined (see the marginal references); and Numbers 33:54 is substantially a repetition from Numbers 33:55-56 is new. A call for it had been furnished by their past transgressions in the matter of Baal-peor, and by their imperfect fulfillment, at the first, of Moses‘ orders in the Midianite war.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 50-56Verses 50-56 Now that they were to pass over Jordan, they were entering again into temptation to follow idols; and they are threatened that, if they spared either the idols or the idolaters, their sin would certainly be their punishment. They would foster vipers in their own bosoms. The remnant of the Canaanites, if they made any peace with them, though but for a time, would be pricks in their eyes, and thorns in their sides. We must expect trouble and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 55-56Israel did not follow God's instructions. So, they suffered the consequences predicted here (33:51–53; see Judges 1:1–2:5; 2:11–3:6). Israel’s enemies in the period of the judges were like "barbs … and thorns" (Numbers 33:55). Their enemies caused them military and spiritual trouble (compare 2 Corinthians 12:7).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5555. But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you--No associations were to be formed with the inhabitants; otherwise, "if ye let remain, they will be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides"--that is, they would prove troublesome and dangerous neighbors, enticing to idolatry, and consequently depriving you of the divine favor and blessing. The neglect of the counsel against union with the idolatrous inhabitants became…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 33:55

• Company
• Thorn

In the dictionaries

• Dispossess
• Divide
• Draw
• Exodus
• Gibeon
• Thorn
• Aaron
• Encampment By the Red Sea
• Exodus, the
• Exodus, the Book of

Commentaries on Numbers 33

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings