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

1The Lord spoke to Moses: “Exact vengeance for the Israelites on the Midianites – after that you will be gathered to your people.” 3So Moses spoke to the people: “Arm men from among you for the war, to attack the Midianites and to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 4You must send to the battle a thousand men from every tribe throughout all the tribes of Israel.”

Numbers 31:2 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Avengeנְקָמָהneqâmâh · vengeanceH5360
• Avengeנָקַםnâqam · to avengeH5358
• the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• of the Midianitesמִדְיָנִיmidyânîy · MidianiteH4084
• afterwardאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• shalt thou be gatheredאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622
• unto thy peopleעַם‛am · kinsmanH5971

Cross-references for Numbers 31:2

• Numbers 31:3So Moses spoke to the people: “Arm men from among you for the war, to attack the Midianites and to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian.
• Numbers 25:17“Bring trouble to the Midianites, and destroy them,
• Deuteronomy 32:35I will get revenge and pay them back at the time their foot slips; for the day of their disaster is near, and the impending judgment is rushing upon them!”
• Judges 16:24When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who ruined our land and killed so many of us!”
• Psalms 94:1O Lord, the God who avenges! O God who avenges, reveal your splendor!
• Isaiah 1:24Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, the powerful ruler of Israel, says this: “Ah, I will seek vengeance against my adversaries, I will take revenge against my enemies.
• Nahum 1:2The Lord is a zealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and very angry. The Lord takes vengeance against his foes; he sustains his rage against his enemies.
• Luke 21:22because these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
• Romans 12:19Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
• Romans 13:4for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be in fear, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God’s servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:6In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly.
• Hebrews 10:30For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
• Revelation 6:10They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”
• Revelation 18:20(Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has pronounced judgment against her on your behalf!)
• Revelation 19:2because his judgments are true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants poured out by her own hands!”
• Numbers 25:6Just then one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of the whole community of the Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance 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