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Numbers 23:24

in Numbers 23

Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Behold, the people riseth up as a lioness, And as a lion doth he lift himself up: He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, And drink the blood of the slain.

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.

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This verse in Numbers 23

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Behold, 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.

This site's exposition

the people shall rise up

on Numbers 23:24-26

Genesis 49:9 gave the lion to Judah alone, and here the whole people rises as the lion. Albert Barnes suggests the omen Balaam was watching for may have been a real lion coming up out of the Jordan thicket, which would set the picture before his eyes before it reached his mouth. Balak's request now falls from a curse to silence, neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all, which is a man asking for less because he has stopped expecting more.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Now what was the issue of this disappointment? (1.) Balak and Balaam were both of them sick of the cause. [1.] Balak is now willing to have his conjurer silenced. Since he cannot say what he would have him, he wishes him to say nothing: " Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all,

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion,....

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • הֶן־there!

    hen-H2005 →316 times

  • עָם֙a people

    ʾamH5971 →1873 times

  • כְּלָבִ֣יאlike a lion

    kelavi'H3833 →

  • יָק֔וּםit rises

    yakumH6965 →628 times

  • וְכַאֲרִ֖יand like a lion

    vekhaariH738 →

  • יִתְנַשָּׂ֑אit lifts itself up

    yitnasa'H5375 →656 times

  • לֹ֤אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • יִשְׁכַּב֙it will lie down

    yishkavH7901 →212 times

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • יֹ֣אכַלit will devour

    yokhalH398 →810 times

  • טֶ֔רֶףprey

    terefH2964 →

  • וְדַם־and [the] blood of

    vedam-H1818 →360 times

  • חֲלָלִ֖ים[those] slain

    chalalimH2491 →94 times

  • יִשְׁתֶּֽה׃it will drink

    yishtehH8354 →217 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 49:9Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?9 worksGenesis 49:27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”7 worksNumbers 24:9He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”6 worksNumbers 24:8God brought him out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox, to devour hostile nations and crush their bones, to pierce them with arrows.6 worksPsalms 57:3He reaches down from heaven and saves me; He rebukes those who trample me. Selah God sends forth His loving devotion and His truth.6 worksRevelation 5:5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Numbers 24:17I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth.4 worksZechariah 12:6On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and on the left, while the people of Jerusalem remain secure there.4 worksDeuteronomy 33:20Concerning Gad he said: “Blessed is he who enlarges the domain of Gad! He lies down like a lion and tears off an arm or a head.3 worksIsaiah 31:4For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey—and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor—so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights.3 worksZechariah 10:4–5The cornerstone will come from Judah, the tent peg from him, as well as the battle bow and every ruler together.3 worksPsalms 17:12like a lion greedy for prey, like a young lion lurking in ambush.3 worksMicah 5:8–9Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which tramples and tears as it passes through, with no one to rescue them.3 worksProverbs 30:30a lion, mighty among beasts, refusing to retreat before anything;3 worksNahum 2:11Where is the lions’ lair or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs, with nothing to frighten them away?3 worksRevelation 19:11–21Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.3 worksAmos 3:8The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?3 worksGenesis 49:28These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Revelation 5:5

    Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

    it leads to

    • Revelation 22:16

      “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Isaiah 11:1

      Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

    • Jeremiah 23:5–6

      Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

    • Romans 15:12

      And once more, Isaiah says: “The Root of Jesse will appear, One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.”

    • Romans 1:3

      regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,

  • Through

    Numbers 24:17

    I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and…

    it leads to

    • Luke 1:32–33

      He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,

    • Genesis 49:10

      The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.

  • Through

    Genesis 49:9

    Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?

    it leads to

    • Numbers 24:9

      He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”

Where this verse is studied

About Numbers

The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Numbers: the study guide →Read Numbers 23 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Numbers 23 →