New Living Translation
Numbers 23:24
24These people rise up like a lioness, like a majestic lion rousing itself. They refuse to rest until they have feasted on prey, drinking the blood of the slaughtered!”
Numbers 23:24 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
- New International Version (NIV)The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till it devours its prey and drinks the blood of its victims.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Look, a people rises like a lioness, And lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.”
Context of Numbers 23:24
22God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox. 23No curse can touch Jacob; no magic has any power against Israel. For now it will be said of Jacob, ‘What wonders God has done for Israel!’ These people rise up like a lioness, like a majestic lion rousing itself. They refuse to rest until they have feasted on prey, drinking the blood of the slaughtered!” 25Then Balak said to Balaam, “Fine, but if you won’t curse them, at least don’t bless them!” 26But Balaam replied to Balak, “Didn’t I tell you that I can do only what the Lord tells me?”
Read all of Numbers 23Numbers 23:24 word by word
הֶן־עָם֙ כְּלָבִ֣יא יָק֔וּם וְכַאֲרִ֖י יִתְנַשָּׂ֑א לֹ֤א יִשְׁכַּב֙ עַד־יֹ֣אכַל טֶ֔רֶף וְדַם־חֲלָלִ֖ים יִשְׁתֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Behold, the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- shall rise upקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
- as a great lionלָבִיאlâbîy' lebîyâ' lebâ'îym lebâ'ôth · lionH3833
- and lift upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
- himself as a young lionאֲרִי'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
- he shall not lie downשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
- until he eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- the preyטֶ֫רֶףţereph · preyH2964
- and drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
- the bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
- of the slainחָלָלchâlâl · slain: killedH2491
Cross-references for Numbers 23:24
- Numbers 24:8God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox. He devours all the nations that oppose him, breaking their bones in pieces, shooting them with arrows.
- Genesis 49:9Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
- Deuteronomy 33:20Moses said this about the tribe of Gad: “Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad’s territory! Gad is poised there like a lion to tear off an arm or a head.
- Psalms 17:12They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart— like young lions hiding in ambush.
- Proverbs 30:30the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,
- Isaiah 31:4But this is what the Lord has told me: “When a strong young lion stands growling over a sheep it has killed, it is not frightened by the shouts and noise of a whole crowd of shepherds. In the same way, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will come down and fight on Mount Zion.
- Amos 3:8The lion has roared— so who isn’t frightened? The Sovereign Lord has spoken— so who can refuse to proclaim his message?
- Revelation 5:5But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
- Numbers 24:17I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the heads of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.
- Genesis 49:27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.”
- Daniel 2:44“During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.
- Micah 5:8The remnant left in Israel will take their place among the nations. They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a strong young lion among flocks of sheep and goats, pouncing and tearing as they go with no rescuer in sight.
- Zechariah 10:4From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow for battle, and all the rulers.
- Zechariah 12:6“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a flame that sets a woodpile ablaze or like a burning torch among sheaves of grain. They will burn up all the neighboring nations right and left, while the people living in Jerusalem remain secure.
- Revelation 19:11Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.
Commentaries on Numbers 23:24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion - לביא labi, the great, mighty, or old lion, the king of the forest, who is feared and respected by all the other beasts of the field; so shall Israel be the subduer and possessor of the whole land of Canaan. And as a young lion, ארי ari from ארה arah, to tear off, the predatory lion, or the lion in the act of seizing and tearing his prey; - the nations against whom the Israelites are now going shall be no…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-30Verses 11-30 Balak was angry with Balaam. Thus a confession of God's overruling power is extorted from a wicked prophet, to the confusion of a wicked prince. A second time the curse is turned into a blessing; and this blessing is both larger and stronger than the former. Men change their minds, and break their words; but God never changes his mind, and therefore never recalls his promise. And when in Scripture he is said to repent, it does not mean any…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-24No curse could overpower Israel because God blessed them (Numbers 22:12; compare Genesis 12:2–3; 22:17–18). Israel was safe from the harm that Moab and Midian tried to cause through divination (compare Numbers 24:1). Israel would become famous because God protected them from harm (see Joshua 2:9–11; compare Numbers 14:13–19).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-301. Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars--Balak, being a heathen, would naturally suppose these altars were erected in honor of Baal, the patron deity of his country. It is evident, from Nu 23:4 that they were prepared for the worship of the true God; although in choosing the high places of Baal as their site and rearing a number of altars (2Ki 18:22; Is 17:8; Jr 11:13; Ho 8:11; 10:1), instead of one only, as God had appointed, Balaam blended…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 23:24
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 23
- 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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