Numbers 16:38

Numbers 16:38 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
• New International Version (NIV)the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the Lord, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel."
• New King James Version (NKJV)The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”

Context of Numbers 16:38

36Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37“Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall pick up the censers from the midst of the burned area, because they are holy; and you are to scatter the burning coals farther away. As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, have them made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and they shall serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.” 39So the priest Eleazar took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as plating for the altar, 40as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that no layman, anyone who was not of the descendants of Aaron, would approach to burn incense before the Lord; then he would not become like Korah and his group--just as the Lord had spoken to him through Moses.

Numbers 16:38 word by word

אֵ֡ת מַחְתּוֹת֩ הַֽחַטָּאִ֨ים הָאֵ֜לֶּה בְּנַפְשֹׁתָ֗ם וְעָשׂ֨וּ אֹתָ֜ם רִקֻּעֵ֤י פַחִים֙ צִפּ֣וּי לַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ כִּֽי־הִקְרִיבֻ֥ם לִפְנֵֽי־יְהוָ֖ה וַיִּקְדָּ֑שׁוּ וְיִֽהְי֥וּ לְא֖וֹת לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

• As for the censersמַחְתָּהmachtâh · censerH4289
• of theseאֵ֫לֶּה'êlleh · theseH428
• menחַטָּאchaţţâ' · sinnerH2400
• at the cost of their own livesנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• have them madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• into hammeredרִקּוּעַriqqûa‛ · hammered outH7555
• sheetsפַּחpach · plateH6341
• as platingצִפּוּיtsipûy · platingH6826
• for the altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• sinceכִּיkîy · forH3588
• they did presentקָרַבqârab · to present: bringH7126
• them beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and they areקָדַשׁqâdash · to consecrate: consecateH6942
• holyקָדַשׁqâdash · to consecrate: consecateH6942
• serveהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• as a signאוֹת'ôth · sign: indicatorH226
• to the sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478

Cross-references for Numbers 16:38

• 1 Kings 2:23Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more so, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life!
• Proverbs 1:18But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives.
• Proverbs 8:36But one who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.”
• Proverbs 20:2The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion; One who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.
• Habakkuk 2:10You have planned a shameful thing for your house By bringing many peoples to an end; So you are sinning against yourself.
• Numbers 16:40as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that no layman, anyone who was not of the descendants of Aaron, would approach to burn incense before the Lord; then he would not become like Korah and his group--just as the Lord had spoken to him through Moses.
• Numbers 17:10But the Lord said to Moses, “Put the staff of Aaron back in front of the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels, so that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me and they do not die.”
• Numbers 26:10and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that group died, when the fire devoured 250 men, so that they became a warning sign.
• Ezekiel 14:8I will set My face against that person and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will eliminate him from among My people. So you will know that I am the Lord.
• 1 Corinthians 10:11Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
• 2 Peter 2:6and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example of what is coming for the ungodly;

Commentaries on Numbers 16:38

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 38These sinners against their own souls - That is, “against their own lives.” By their sin they had brought destruction upon themselves.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 35-40Verses 35-40 A fire went out from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense, while Aaron, who stood with them, was preserved alive. God is jealous of the honour of his own institutions, and will not have them invaded. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. The censers are devoted, and, as all devoted things, must be made serviceable to the glory of God. This covering of the altar would remind the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 38-40Eleazar made a bronze sheet to cover the altar, replacing or adding to the earlier one (Exodus 38:2). Like the plain blue tassels in Numbers 15:37–41, it reminded the people of Israel to obey God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 37-4037-40. Speak unto Eleazar--He was selected lest the high priest might contract defilement from going among the dead carcasses.Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 16:38

• Altar
• Censer
• Israel
• Token

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Aaron
• Choose
• Close
• Exodus
• Famous
• Renown

Commentaries on Numbers 16

• 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