Numbers 20:3

Numbers 20:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord!
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord!
• New Living Translation (NLT)The people blamed Moses and said, “If only we had died in the Lord’s presence with our brothers!

Context of Numbers 20:3

1In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried. 2Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

Numbers 20:3 word by word

וַיָּ֥רֶב הָעָ֖ם עִם־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ לֵאמֹ֔ר וְל֥וּ גָוַ֛עְנוּ בִּגְוַ֥ע אַחֵ֖ינוּ לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• chodeרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
• with Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• and spakeאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Would God thatלוּlû' lû' lû · ifH3863
• we had diedגָּוַעgâva‛ · to dieH1478
• when our brethrenאָח'âch · brother: compatriotH251
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Numbers 20:3

• Numbers 14:1That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.
• Exodus 16:2In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
• Exodus 17:2So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”
• Job 3:10for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes.
• Numbers 11:1Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
• Numbers 14:36So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it—
• Numbers 16:31As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart
• Lamentations 4:9Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.

Commentaries on Numbers 20:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2-6Verses 2-6 The language of the murmurers is noteworthy. It has the air of a traditional remonstrance handed down from the last generation. Compare marginal references.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3our brothers: This shows that the Israelites saw themselves as connected to those who had died: Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1–5), those who died during the first plague after craving meat (Numbers 11:33), the skeptics who died in the wilderness (14:29), the ten unfaithful spies (14:36–37), Korah, Abiram, and Dathan (16:32), the 250 leaders (16:35), and the 14,700 people who died in the second plague (16:49).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-132-13. there was no water for the congregation--There was at Kadesh a fountain, En-Mishpat (Ge 14:7), and at the first encampment of the Israelites there was no want of water. It was then either partially dried up by the heat of the season, or had been exhausted by the demands of so vast a multitude.Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 20:3

• Israel
• Moses
• Murmuring
• Trouble

In the dictionaries

• God
• Moses
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Exodus
• Meribah
• Refuse
• Aaron
• Agrapha
• Chronicles, Books of
• Chronology of the Old Testament

Commentaries on Numbers 20

• 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