Numbers 21:8

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.”

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

ASV

And Jehovah said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live.

YLT

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Make for thee a burning serpent , and set it on an ensign; and it hath been, every one who is bitten and hath seen it--he hath lived.

DBT

And Jehovah said to Moses, Make thee a fiery [serpent], and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, and looketh upon it, shall live.

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Commentary voices

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Voices6

On this verse

Many things were done in figure which were done in former times. For when he said that the fathers who were bitten by serpents in the desert could not be healed in any other way except that Moses hung up a brazen serpent, and when this was seen, those deadly bites and injurious effects of the poison were cured, he added: But these things were done in figure to instruct us (1 Corinthians 10:6).

Ambrose of Milan· Apology for the Prophet David, Chapter III, 397patristic

Related commentary

And the Lord said unto Moses,....

John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed

Make thee a fiery serpent - Literally, make thee a seraph. And put it upon a pole - על נס al nes, upon a standard or ensign.

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832evangelical

This peculiar method of cure was designed, in the first instance, to show that it was the efficacy of God's power and grace, not the effect of nature or art, and also that it might be a type of the power of faith in Christ to heal all who look to Him because of their sins (Joh 3:14, 15; see also on 2Ki 18:4).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed

The serpent signified Christ, who was in the likeness of sinful flesh, though without sin, as this brazen serpent had the outward shape, but not the inward poison, of the other serpents: the pole resembled the cross upon which Christ was lifted up for our salvation: and looking up to it designed our believing in Christ.

John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765evangelical

God ordered Moses to make the representation of a fiery serpent, which he did, in brass, and set it up on a very long pole, so that it might be seen from all parts of the camp, and every one that was stung with a fiery serpent was healed by looking up to this serpent of brass.

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

Voices on this verse

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Rabbinic commentary

How the Hebraic tradition has read this verse — and Marcus Brown’s own reading of it.

Cross-references

9 linked verses

The verses this one reaches9

John 3:14
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
Psalms 107:20
He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the Pit.
John 5:46
If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me.
Isaiah 45:22
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
Luke 24:44
Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
Psalms 106:43–45
Many times He rescued them, but they were bent on rebellion and sank down in their iniquity.
2 Kings 18:4
He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.
Psalms 145:8
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
Luke 6:19
The entire crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.

Cross-references

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The quotation web

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Original language

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Around this verse

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

PersonExodus and Wilderness PeriodMosesIsrael's deliverer from Egyptian slavery, covenant mediator, and lawgiver.

Prophecy and fulfillment
John 3:14
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
MannaFest topical index (legacy import; verified against ASV text 2026-07-21; founder-approved batch)
A picture of Christ
John 3:14
Serpent lifted up in the wilderness
MannaFest topical index (legacy import; verified against ASV text 2026-07-21; founder-approved batch)

The Bronze Serpent — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866) — public domain

Numbers — Israel on the move — and Israel on the ground in rebellion. Two censuses bracket thirty-eight wilderness years; God's faithfulness holds where the people's does not.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Moses — the wilderness narrator; ‘Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys’ (33:2)
Date: The wilderness years, c. 15th–13th century BC

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
John 3:14
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
leads to
- Numbers 21:7–9
  Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses…
- John 8:28
  So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father…
- John 12:32–34
  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself.”
- Luke 24:26–27
  Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?”
- Luke 24:44–46
  Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets,…
Through
Psalms 145:8
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
leads to
- Numbers 14:18
  ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon…
- Psalms 103:8
  The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
- Psalms 86:5
  For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

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Continue: Numbers 21 →