Numbers 31:2

Numbers 31:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
• New International Version (NIV)“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people."
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

Context of Numbers 31:2

1Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” 3Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 4A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.”

Numbers 31:2 word by word

נְקֹ֗ם נִקְמַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מֵאֵ֖ת הַמִּדְיָנִ֑ים אַחַ֖ר תֵּאָסֵ֥ף אֶל־עַמֶּֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear

• Takeנָקַםnâqam · to avengeH5358
• fullנְקָמָהneqâmâh · vengeanceH5360
• for the sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• on the Midianitesמִדְיָנִיmidyânîy · MidianiteH4084
• afterwardאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• gatheredאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622
• to your peopleעַם‛am · kinsmanH5971

Cross-references for Numbers 31:2

• Numbers 31:3Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian.
• Numbers 25:17“Be hostile to the Midianites and strike them;
• Deuteronomy 32:35Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’
• Judges 16:24When the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hands, Even the destroyer of our country, Who has slain many of us.”
• Psalms 94:1O Lord, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth!
• Isaiah 1:24Therefore the Lord God of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, declares, “Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries And avenge Myself on My foes.
• Nahum 1:2A jealous and avenging God is the Lord; The Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.
• Luke 21:22because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.
• Romans 12:19Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
• Romans 13:4for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:6and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.
• Hebrews 10:30For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
• Revelation 6:10and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
• Revelation 18:20Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”
• Revelation 19:2because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.”
• Numbers 25:6Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

Commentaries on Numbers 31:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Gathered unto thy people - Where? Not in the grave surely. Moses was gathered with none of them, his burial-place no man ever knew. "But being gathered unto one's people means dying." It does imply dying, but it does not mean this only. The truth is, God considers all those who are dead to men in a state of conscious existence in another world. Therefore he calls himself the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; now God is not the God of the dead…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The Midianites - The Moabites are not included. It would thus seem that it was the Midianites, and they only, who deliberately set themselves to work the corruption of Israel.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2The Lord instructed Moses to lead Israel in a war against the Midianites. The Midianites had joined the Moabites in influencing the Hebrews to worship idols (chapter 25). The Midianites were a tribal people living in the dry regions south and east of Palestine and east of the Jordan River. They were among the "people of the east" (Judges 6:3, 33; 7:12). They lived in camps or settlements and were famous for their desert transportation skills (compare…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-541-2. the Lord spake unto Moses, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites--a semi-nomad people, descended from Abraham and Keturah, occupying a tract of country east and southeast of Moab, which lay on the eastern coast of the Dead Sea. They seem to have been the principal instigators of the infamous scheme of seduction, planned to entrap the Israelites into the double crime of idolatry and licentiousness [Nu 25:1-3, 17, 18] by which, it was hoped…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 31:2

• Moses

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Prey
• Purify
• Abel-Shittim
• Balaam
• Hur
• Midian; Midianites

Commentaries on Numbers 31

• 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