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

53and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. 54You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the larger you shall give more inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give less inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to anyone, that shall be his. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live. 56And as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.’”

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

• But ifאִם'im · ifH518
• you do not driveיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
• out the inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• from beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• you, then it shall comeהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• about that those whomאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• you letיָתַרyâthar · to remainH3498
• as pricksשֵׂךְώêk · thornH7899
• in your eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• and as thornsצָנִיןtsânîyn tsânin · thornH6796
• in your sidesצַדtsad · sideH6654
• and they will troubleצָרַרtsârar · to vexH6887

Cross-references for Numbers 33:55

• Exodus 23:33They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
• Deuteronomy 7:4For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you.
• Joshua 23:12For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,
• Judges 1:21But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
• Judges 2:3Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’”
• Psalms 106:34They did not destroy the peoples, As the Lord commanded them,
• Ezekiel 28:24And there will be no more for the house of Israel a prickling brier or a painful thorn from any round about them who scorned them; then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

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