Font Size
Numbers 21:4-9
Christian Standard Bible
Numbers 21:4-9
Christian Standard Bible
The Bronze Snake
4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey. 5 The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous[a] snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.(A)
7 The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.”(B) 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 21:6 Lit Burning
Numbers 21:4-9
International Standard Version
Numbers 21:4-9
International Standard Version
The Bronze Serpent
4 After this, they traveled from Mount Hor along the caravan route by way of the Sea of Reeds and went around the land of Edom. But when the people got impatient because it was a long route, 5 the people complained against the Lord and Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” they asked. “There’s no food[a] and water, and we’re tired of this worthless bread.”[b]
6 In response, the Lord sent poisonous[c] serpents among the people to bite them. As a result, many people of Israel died. 7 Then the people approached Moses and admitted, “We’ve sinned by speaking against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord, that he’ll remove[d] the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed in behalf of the people.
8 Then the Lord instructed Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent out of brass and fasten it to a pole. Anyone who has been bitten and who looks at it will live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and fastened it to a pole. If a person who had been bitten by a poisonous serpent looked to the serpent,[e] he lived.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 21:5 Lit. bread
- Numbers 21:5 Or light bread; i.e. the manna
- Numbers 21:6 Lit. fiery
- Numbers 21:7 Lit. turn away
- Numbers 21:9 Lit. to it
Numbers 21:4-9
New International Version
Numbers 21:4-9
New International Version
The Bronze Snake
4 They traveled from Mount Hor(A) along the route to the Red Sea,[a](B) to go around Edom.(C) But the people grew impatient on the way;(D) 5 they spoke against God(E) and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt(F) to die in the wilderness?(G) There is no bread! There is no water!(H) And we detest this miserable food!”(I)
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes(J) among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.(K) 7 The people came to Moses(L) and said, “We sinned(M) when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord(N) will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed(O) for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole;(P) anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake(Q) and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.(R)
Footnotes
- Numbers 21:4 Or the Sea of Reeds
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
International Standard Version (ISV) 
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.