New Living Translation
Numbers 27:16
16“O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community.
Numbers 27:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,
- New International Version (NIV)“May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,
Context of Numbers 27:16
14for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters.” (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) 15Then Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. 17Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.” 18The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.
Read all of Numbers 27Numbers 27:16 word by word
יִפְקֹ֣ד יְהוָ֔ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י הָרוּחֹ֖ת לְכָל־בָּשָׂ֑ר אִ֖ישׁ עַל־הָעֵדָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 27:16
- Deuteronomy 31:2he said, “I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan River.’
- 1 Samuel 8:20“We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”
- 1 Samuel 18:13Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle.
- 2 Samuel 5:2In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be Israel’s leader.’”
- 1 Kings 3:7“Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around.
- 2 Chronicles 1:10Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?”
- John 10:3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
- 1 Kings 22:17Then Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.’”
- 2 Chronicles 18:16Then Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.’”
- Ezekiel 34:5So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal.
- Zechariah 10:2Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd.
- Zechariah 13:7“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.
- Matthew 9:36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
- Matthew 10:6but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep.
- Matthew 15:24Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
- Mark 6:34Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
Commentaries on Numbers 27:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16The Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh - See the notes on Numbers 16:22.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16The God of the spirits of all flesh - An acknowledgment that man, who is but flesh (compare Genesis 6:3), is of himself helpless; and “lives and moves and has his being” in God Acts 17:28. The words are suitably employed here to introduce an entreaty that God would not leave the congregation without a guide and leader, and in Numbers 16:22 as a preface to an intercession that the whole people should not suffer for the sin of a, few.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-23Verses 15-23 Envious spirits do not love their successors; but Moses was not one of these. We should concern ourselves, both in our prayers and in our endeavours, for the rising generation, that religion may be maintained and advanced, when we are in our graves. God appoints a successor, even Joshua; who had signalized himself by his courage in fighting Amalek, his humility in ministering to Moses, and his faith and sincerity in witnessing against the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-17Israel was about to begin a long battle for Canaan. Moses did not want them to struggle without a leader or become lost like sheep without a shepherd (compare 1 Kings 22:17; Ezekiel 34:5; Matthew 9:36).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation--The request was most suitably made to God in this character, as the Author of all the intellectual gifts and moral graces with which men are endowed, and who can raise up qualified persons for the most arduous duties and the most difficult situations.Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 27:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 27
- 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 Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries