New Living Translation
Numbers 11:25
25And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again.
Numbers 11:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again.
Context of Numbers 11:25
23Then the Lord said to Moses, “Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!” 24So Moses went out and reported the Lord’s words to the people. He gathered the seventy elders and stationed them around the Tabernacle. And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again. 26Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle. Yet the Spirit rested upon them as well, so they prophesied there in the camp. 27A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”
Read all of Numbers 11Numbers 11:25 word by word
וַיֵּ֨רֶד יְהוָ֥ה׀ בֶּעָנָן֮ וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלָיו֒ וַיָּ֗אצֶל מִן־הָר֙וּחַ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָלָ֔יו וַיִּתֵּ֕ן עַל־שִׁבְעִ֥ים אִ֖ישׁ הַזְּקֵנִ֑ים וַיְהִ֗י כְּנ֤וֹחַ עֲלֵיהֶם֙ הָר֔וּחַ וַיִּֽתְנַבְּא֖וּ וְלֹ֥א יָסָֽפוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- came downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
- in a cloudעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051
- and spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- unto him, and tookאָצַל'âtsal · to reserveH680
- of the spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- upon him, and gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
- unto the seventyשִׁבְעִיםshib‛îym · seventyH7657
- eldersאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
- restedנוּחַnûach · to restH5117
- upon them, they prophesiedנָבָאnâbâ' · to prophesyH5012
- and did not ceaseיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254
Cross-references for Numbers 11:25
- Numbers 11:17I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.
- Numbers 12:5Then the Lord descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward.
- Exodus 34:5Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh.
- Exodus 40:38The cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.
- Psalms 99:7He spoke to Israel from the pillar of cloud, and they followed the laws and decrees he gave them.
- Luke 9:34But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.
- 2 Kings 2:15When the group of prophets from Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, “Elijah’s spirit rests upon Elisha!” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
- James 1:17Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
- 1 Samuel 10:5“When you arrive at Gibeah of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is located, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying.
- 1 Samuel 19:20he sent troops to capture him. But when they arrived and saw Samuel leading a group of prophets who were prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men, and they also began to prophesy.
- Jeremiah 36:5Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, “I am a prisoner here and unable to go to the Temple.
- Joel 2:28“Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.
- Acts 2:17‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
- Acts 11:28One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.)
- Acts 21:9He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
- 1 Corinthians 11:4A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying.
Commentaries on Numbers 11:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25When the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied - By prophesying here we are to understand their performing those civil and sacred functions for which they were qualified; exhorting the people to quiet and peaceable submission, to trust and confidence in the goodness and providence of God, would make no small part of the duties of their new office. The ideal meaning of the word נבא naba is to pray, entreat, etc. The prophet is called נביא nabi, because…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4-35Verses 4-35 Occurrences at Kibroth-hattavah. Numbers 11:4 The mixt multitude - The word in the original resembles our “riff-raff,” and denotes a mob of people scraped together. It refers here to the multitude of strangers (see Exodus 12:38) who had followed the Israelites from Egypt. Numbers 11:5 The natural dainties of Egypt are set forth in this passage with the fullness and relish which bespeak personal experience. Numbers 11:6-7 There is nothing at…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-30Verses 24-30 We have here the fulfilment of God's word to Moses, that he should have help in the government of Israel. He gave of his Spirit to the seventy elders. They discoursed to the people of the things of God, so that all who heard them might say, that God was with them of a truth. Two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, went not out unto the tabernacle, as the rest, being sensible of their own weakness and unworthiness. But the Spirit of God found them…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25The text does not describe what happened when the Spirit rested on them and they prophesied. It only says that they spoke as the Spirit enabled them. Whatever took place, it may have included ecstatic speech (intense or Spirit-driven words spoken in a special way). Similar events appear later in Acts 2:4 and 1 Corinthians 14:2. However, the text suggests that this was a unique event.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease--As those elders were constituted civil governors, their "prophesying" must be understood as meaning the performance of their civil and sacred duties by the help of those extraordinary endowments they had received; and by their not "ceasing" we understand, either that they continued to exercise their gifts uninterruptedly the first day (see 1Sa 19:24), or that these were permanent…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 11:25
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 11
- 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
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