New King James Version
Numbers 24:22
22Nevertheless Kain shall be burned. How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”
Numbers 24:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
- New International Version (NIV)yet you Kenites will be destroyed when Ashur takes you captive.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned when Asshur takes you away captive."
- New Living Translation (NLT)But the Kenites will be destroyed when Assyria takes you captive.”
Context of Numbers 24:22
20Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said: “Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last until he perishes.” 21Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said: “Firm is your dwelling place, And your nest is set in the rock; Nevertheless Kain shall be burned. How long until Asshur carries you away captive?” 23Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall live when God does this? 24But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus, And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber, And so shall Amalek, until he perishes.”
Read all of Numbers 24Numbers 24:22 word by word
כִּ֥י אִם־יִהְיֶ֖ה לְבָ֣עֵֽר קָ֑יִן עַד־מָ֖ה אַשּׁ֥וּר תִּשְׁבֶּֽךָּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 24:22
- Numbers 23:23“For there is no sorcery against Jacob, Nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’
- 2 Kings 5:1Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.
- Malachi 3:2“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap.
Commentaries on Numbers 24:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Until Asshur shall carry thee away captive - The Assyrians and Babylonians who carried away captive the ten tribes, 2 Kings 17:6, and the Jews into Babylon, 2 Kings 25, probably carried away the Kenites also. Indeed this seems pretty evident, as we find some Kenites mentioned among the Jews after their return from the Babylonish captivity, 1 Chronicles 2:55.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Render, For Kain shall surely not be destroyed (literally “be for destruction”) until Asshur, etc. The words are not, as they appear in the King James Version, a prediction of evil to the Kenites, but a promise, on the contrary, of safety to be long continued to them (compare Numbers 10:32; Jeremiah 35:19).Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-25Verses 15-25 Under the powerful influence of the Spirit of prophecy, Balaam foretold the future prosperity and extensive dominion of Israel. Balaam boasts that his eyes are open. The prophets were in old times called seers. He had heard the words of God, which many do who neither heed them, nor hear God in them. He knew the knowledge of the Most High. A man may be full of the knowledge of God, yet utterly destitute of the grace of God. He calls God the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-22Assyria would destroy the Kenites, a desert people living in the same areas as the Amalekites and Midianites. Moses married a Kenite (Judges 1:16; 4:11; compare Numbers 10:29–32). The Kenites were mostly friendly with Israel after that time (for example, 1 Samuel 15:6; 27:10; 30:27–30).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-251. to seek for--that is, to use enchantments. His experience on the two former occasions [Nu 23:3, 15] had taught him that these superstitious accompaniments of his worship were useless, and therefore he now simply looked towards the camp of Israel, either with a secret design to curse them, or to await the divine afflatus.Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 24:22
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 24
- 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries