Numbers 21:7

Numbers 21:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
• New International Version (NIV)The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

Context of Numbers 21:7

5So the people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we are disgusted with this miserable food.” 6Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you; intercede with the Lord, that He will remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. 8Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live.” 9So Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on the flag pole; and it came about, that if a serpent bit someone, and he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Numbers 21:7 word by word

וַיָּבֹא֩ הָעָ֨ם אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֜ה וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ חָטָ֗אנוּ כִּֽי־דִבַּ֤רְנוּ בַֽיהוָה֙ וָבָ֔ךְ הִתְפַּלֵּל֙ אֶל־יְהוָ֔ה וְיָסֵ֥ר מֵעָלֵ֖ינוּ אֶת־הַנָּחָ֑שׁ וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֥ל מֹשֶׁ֖ה בְּעַ֥ד הָעָֽם׃Read the interlinear

• So the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• We have sinnedחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
• becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• we have spokenדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• against the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• intercedeפָּלַלpâlal · to prayH6419
• that He will removeסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: removeH5493
• the serpentsנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175

Cross-references for Numbers 21:7

• Exodus 9:27Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones.
• 1 Samuel 12:19Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, by asking for ourselves a king.”
• 1 Samuel 15:24Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have violated the command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.
• Psalms 78:34When He killed them, then they sought Him, And they returned and searched diligently for God;
• Matthew 27:4saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You shall see to it yourself!”
• Exodus 8:8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”
• 1 Kings 13:6And the king responded and said to the man of God, “Please appease the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God appeased the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before.
• Jeremiah 37:3Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray to the Lord our God in our behalf.”
• Acts 8:24But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
• James 5:16Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.
• Numbers 11:2The people then cried out to Moses; and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died out.
• Numbers 14:17So now, please, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, saying,
• Genesis 20:7Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.”
• Exodus 32:11Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
• Deuteronomy 9:20The Lord was also angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time.
• 1 Samuel 12:20Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.

Commentaries on Numbers 21:7

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-9Verses 4-9 The children of Israel were wearied by a long march round the land of Edom. They speak discontentedly of what God had done for them, and distrustfully of what he would do. What will they be pleased with, whom manna will not please? Let not the contempt which some cast on the word of God, make us value it less. It is the bread of life, substantial bread, and will nourish those who by faith feed upon it, to eternal life, whoever may call it light…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-9Jesus referred to this event when he explained who he is and why he came (John 3:14–15). By the time of King Hezekiah, around 700 BC, the bronze snake had become an object of worship in Jerusalem. The people were burning incense to it, so Hezekiah destroyed it (2 Kings 18:4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-97-9. the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned--The severity of the scourge and the appalling extent of mortality brought them to a sense of sin, and through the intercessions of Moses, which they implored, they were miraculously healed. He was directed to make the figure of a serpent in brass, to be elevated on a pole or standard, that it might be seen at the extremities of the camp and that every bitten Israelite who looked to it might be…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 21:7

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Animals
• Conviction
• Intercession
• Israel
• Miracles
• Repentance
• Salvation
• Serpent

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Behold
• Brass
• Exodus
• Prayer
• Spy
• Bible, the
• Genealogy
• Images
• Intercession

Commentaries on Numbers 21

• 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