Numbers 9:16

Numbers 9:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
• New International Version (NIV)That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.

Context of Numbers 9:16

14And if a stranger resides among you and celebrates the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and its ordinance, so he shall celebrate it; you shall have the same statute, both for the stranger and for the native of the land.’” 15Now on the day that the tabernacle was erected, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the tabernacle until morning. That is how it was continuously; the cloud would cover it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp. 18At the command of the Lord the sons of Israel would set out, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they remained camped.

Numbers 9:16 word by word

כֵּ֚ן יִהְיֶ֣ה תָמִ֔יד הֶעָנָ֖ן יְכַסֶּ֑נּוּ וּמַרְאֵה־אֵ֖שׁ לָֽיְלָה׃Read the interlinear

• Thatכֵּןkên · rightH3651
• it was continuouslyתָּמִידtâmîyd · continuallyH8548
• the cloudעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051
• would coverכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
• and the appearanceמַרְאֶהmar'eh · appearanceH4758
• of fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• by nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915

Cross-references for Numbers 9:16

• Numbers 9:18At the command of the Lord the sons of Israel would set out, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they remained camped.
• Exodus 13:21And the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.
• Exodus 40:38For throughout their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.
• Deuteronomy 1:33who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to make camp, in the fire by night to show you the way by which you should go, and in the cloud by day.
• Nehemiah 9:12And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day, And with a pillar of fire by night To light for them the way In which they were to go.
• Psalms 78:14Then He led them with the cloud by day And all the night with a light of fire.
• Psalms 105:39He spread out a cloud as a covering, And fire to illumine by night.
• Isaiah 4:5then the Lord will create over the entire area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy.
• 1 Corinthians 10:1For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea;
• 2 Corinthians 5:19namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
• Revelation 21:3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

Commentaries on Numbers 9:16

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-23Verses 15-23 This cloud was appointed to be the visible sign and symbol of God's presence with Israel. Thus we are taught to see God always near us, both night and day. As long as the cloud rested on the tabernacle, so long they continued in the same place. There is no time lost, while we are waiting God's time. When the cloud was taken up, they removed, however comfortably they were encamped. We are kept at uncertainty concerning the time of our putting…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-23This passage is similar to Exodus 40:17, 34–38. It gives more details about how God used the pillar of cloud and fire to lead his people (see also Exodus 13:21–22). The Lord was faithful and clearly guided his people in the wilderness.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2315. the cloud covered the tabernacle--The inspired historian here enters on an entirely new subject, which might properly have formed a separate chapter, beginning at this verse and ending at Nu 10:29 [Calmet]. The cloud was a visible token of God's special presence and guardian care of the Israelites (Ex 14:20; Psa 105:39). It was easily distinguishable from all other clouds by its peculiar form and its fixed position; for from the day of the completion…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 9:16

• Cloud
• Fire

In the dictionaries

• Appearance
• Sinai
• Apocrypha
• Chronicles, Books of
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genealogy
• Hittites
• Law in the Old Testament
• Moses
• Numbers, Book of

Commentaries on Numbers 9

• 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