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 Living Translation (NLT)“On behalf of the people of Israel, take revenge on the Midianites for leading them into idolatry. After that, you will die and join your ancestors.”

Context of Numbers 31:2

1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” 3So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian. 4A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.”

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, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian.
• Numbers 25:17“Harass the Midianites, and attack them;
• Deuteronomy 32:35Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.’
• Judges 16:24When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, The destroyer of our land, And the one who multiplied our dead.”
• Psalms 94:1O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs— O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
• Isaiah 1:24Therefore the Lord says, The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, “Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies.
• Nahum 1:2God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies;
• Luke 21:22For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
• Romans 12:19Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
• Romans 13:4For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:6that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.
• Hebrews 10:30For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
• Revelation 6:10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
• Revelation 18:20“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”
• Revelation 19:2For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.”
• Numbers 25:6And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle 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