Numbers 16:26
in Numbers 16And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
KJV
And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
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This verse in Numbers 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWe find that also made clear in Numbers when Korah and Dathan and Abiram claimed for themselves the liberty of sacrificing in opposition to Aaron the priest. There also the Lord teaches through Moses that the people should be separated from them lest they be bound by the same guilt with the criminals and contaminate themselves by the same crime. "Keep away," he says, "from the tents of most shameless wicked men, and do not touch anything that is theirs, lest you perish at the same time in their sin."
This site's exposition
Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram
on Numbers 16:25-26
Moses goes to the men who refused to come to him, and the elders of Israel go with him, which puts the eldership visibly on one side before anything happens. The warning to the camp is to stand clear and to touch nothing of theirs, so every neighbour is given the means of separating himself. Everything from here to verse 33 happens in front of the whole congregation.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And he spake unto the congregation,....
Note, Those that would not perish with sinners must come out from among them, and be separate. In vain do we pray, Gather not our souls with sinners, if we save not ourselves from the untoward generation. God's people are called out of Babylon, lest they share both in her sins and in her plagues, Rev. xviii.
There, as in the place of rendezvous, Dathan and Abiram staid, when Korah and his friends went up to the tabernacle of the Lord, waiting the issue of their trial; but here we are told how they had their business done, before that trial was over. For God will take what method he pleases in his judgments.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The united and urgent entreaties of so many dignified personages produced the desired effect of convincing the people of their crime, and of withdrawing them from the company of men who were doomed to destruction, lest, being partakers of their sins, they should perish along with them.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְדַבֵּ֨ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעֵדָ֜ה | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ס֣וּרוּ | suru | turn away | H5493 → | 299 times |
| נָ֡א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| מֵעַל֩ | meal | from at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אָהֳלֵ֨י | ʾoholei | [the] tents of | H168 → | 345 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֤ים | haanashim | the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| הָֽרְשָׁעִים֙ | hareshaim | <the> wicked | H7563 → | |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וְאַֽל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּגְּע֖וּ | tigeu | you touch | H5060 → | 150 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | <in> all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לָהֶ֑ם | lahem | [belongs] to <the> them | ||
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| תִּסָּפ֖וּ | tisafu | you should be swept away | H5595 → | |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | with all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חַטֹּאתָֽם׃ | chatotam | sins their | H2403 → | 295 times |
וַיְדַבֵּ֨רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעֵדָ֜הthe congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
ס֣וּרוּturn away
suruH5493 →299 times
נָ֡אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
מֵעַל֩from at
mealH5921 →5755 times
אָהֳלֵ֨י[the] tents of
ʾoholeiH168 →345 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֤יםthe men
haanashimH582 →566 times
הָֽרְשָׁעִים֙<the> wicked
hareshaimH7563 →
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
וְאַֽל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
תִּגְּע֖וּyou touch
tigeuH5060 →150 times
בְּכָל־<in> all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לָהֶ֑ם[belongs] to <the> them
lahem
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
תִּסָּפ֖וּyou should be swept away
tisafuH5595 →
בְּכָל־with all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
חַטֹּאתָֽם׃sins their
chatotamH2403 →295 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 6:17“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 52:11
Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 18:4
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
- 2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Psalms 1:1–3
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
- Ezra 10:11
Now, therefore, make a confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do His will. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from your foreign wives.”
- Isaiah 52:11
Through
Revelation 18:4Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:6
Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.
- Jeremiah 51:45
Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the LORD.
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Numbers
This page draws on Cyprian, Epistle LXVII.3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.