Numbers 21:4-9
New American Standard Bible
4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the [a]Red Sea, to (A)go around the land of Edom; and the [b]people became impatient because of the journey. 5 So the people spoke against God and Moses: “(B)Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no [c]food and no water, and [d](C)we are disgusted with [e]this miserable food.”
The Bronze Serpent
6 (D)Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and (E)they bit the people, so that (F)many people of Israel died. 7 (G)So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you; (H)intercede with the Lord, that He will remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “[f]Make a (I)fiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live.” 9 So Moses made a (J)bronze serpent and put it on the flag pole; and it came about, that if a serpent bit someone, and he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 21:4 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Numbers 21:4 Lit soul of the people was short
- Numbers 21:5 Lit bread
- Numbers 21:5 Lit our soul is disgusted
- Numbers 21:5 I.e., the manna
- Numbers 21:8 Lit Make for yourself
Numbers 21:4-9
Holman 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[a] 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[b][c] 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
- Numbers 21:4 Lit soul of the people
- Numbers 21:6 LXX reads deadly; Syr reads cruel; Vg reads fiery
- Numbers 21:6 Lit burning
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