Numbers 23:24

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; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. 23Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! 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. 25And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. 26But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, all that Yhwh speaketh, that I must do?

Numbers 23:24 word by word

הֶן־עָם֙ כְּלָבִ֣יא יָק֔וּם וְכַאֲרִ֖י יִתְנַשָּׂ֑א לֹ֤א יִשְׁכַּב֙ עַד־יֹ֣אכַל טֶ֔רֶף וְדַם־חֲלָלִ֖ים יִשְׁתֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear

• 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 him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
• Genesis 49:9Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
• Deuteronomy 33:20And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.
• Psalms 17:12Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
• Proverbs 30:30A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
• Isaiah 31:4For thus hath Yhwh spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall Yhwh of Armies come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
• Amos 3:8The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord Yhwh hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
• Revelation 5:5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
• Numbers 24:17I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
• Genesis 49:27Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
• Daniel 2:44And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
• Micah 5:8And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
• Zechariah 10:4Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.
• Zechariah 12:6In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
• Revelation 19:11And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make 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

• Pisgah

In the dictionaries

• Count
• Lions
• Abel-Shittim
• Balaam
• Balak
• Bless
• Charm
• Divination
• Genealogy
• Lion

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