Numbers 33:55
in Numbers 33But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you settle.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as pricks in your eyes, and as thorns in your sides, and they shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
KJV
But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
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This verse in Numbers 33
Commentary
6 notes on this verseShall be pricks in your eyes - Under these metaphors, the continual mischief that should be done to them, both in soul and body, by these idolaters, is set forth in a very expressive manner. What can be more vexatious than a continual goading of each side, so that the attempt to avoid the one throws the body more forcibly on the other? And what can be more distressing than a continual pricking in the eye, harassing the mind, tormenting the body, and extinguishing the sight?
This site's exposition
not drive out the inhabitants
on Numbers 33:55-56
Judges 2:1-3 quotes this warning back and reports the outcome, the nations left in the land becoming thorns in their sides and their gods a snare, and Judges 3:5-6 names the marriages that followed. Verse 56 turns the sentence around, so that what was purposed for the inhabitants falls on Israel instead. The record of the wandering closes with the terms of staying in the land.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
14 And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink. 15 And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai. 16 And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibroth-hattaavah.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you,....
We must expect trouble and affliction from that, whatever it is, which we sinfully indulge; that which we are willing should tempt us we shall find will vex us. (2.) The righteous God would turn that wheel upon the Israelites which was to have crushed the Canaanites: I shall do to you as I thought to do unto them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
This earnest admonition given to the Israelites in their peculiar circumstances conveys a salutary lesson to us to allow no lurking habits of sin to remain in us. That spiritual enemy must be eradicated from our nature; otherwise it will be ruinous to our present peace and future salvation.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֨א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תוֹרִ֜ישׁוּ | torishu | you will dispossess | H3423 → | 231 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֣י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| הָאָרֶץ֮ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִפְּנֵיכֶם֒ | mipeneikhem | from before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and he will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | [those] whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תּוֹתִ֣ירוּ | totiru | you will leave | H3498 → | |
| מֵהֶ֔ם | mehem | any of <the> them | ||
| לְשִׂכִּים֙ | lesikim | <into> thorns | H7899 → | |
| בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם | beeineikhem | in view your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וְלִצְנִינִ֖ם | velitzninim | and <into> pricks | H6796 → | |
| בְּצִדֵּיכֶ֑ם | betzideikhem | in sides your | H6654 → | |
| וְצָרֲר֣וּ | vetzararu | and they will oppose | H6887 → | 54 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֔ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָ֕רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתֶּ֖ם | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| יֹשְׁבִ֥ים | yoshevim | [will be] dwelling | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָּֽהּ׃ | bah | in <the> it |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֨אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תוֹרִ֜ישׁוּyou will dispossess
torishuH3423 →231 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֣י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
הָאָרֶץ֮the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
מִפְּנֵיכֶם֒from before you
mipeneikhemH6440 →2123 times
וְהָיָה֙and he will become
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
אֲשֶׁ֣ר[those] whom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תּוֹתִ֣ירוּyou will leave
totiruH3498 →
מֵהֶ֔םany of <the> them
mehem
לְשִׂכִּים֙<into> thorns
lesikimH7899 →
בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔םin view your
beeineikhemH5869 →887 times
וְלִצְנִינִ֖םand <into> pricks
velitzninimH6796 →
בְּצִדֵּיכֶ֑םin sides your
betzideikhemH6654 →
וְצָרֲר֣וּand they will oppose
vetzararuH6887 →54 times
אֶתְכֶ֔ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָ֕רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אַתֶּ֖םyou
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
יֹשְׁבִ֥ים[will be] dwelling
yoshevimH3427 →1079 times
בָּֽהּ׃in <the> it
bah
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
Deuteronomy 7:16You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:33
They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 8:27
From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
- Deuteronomy 7:2
and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.
- Deuteronomy 13:8
you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.
- 1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
- Exodus 23:33
Through
Judges 2:3So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.”
it leads to
- Joshua 23:13
know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and…
- Psalms 106:36
They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.
- Joshua 23:13
Through
Deuteronomy 7:4because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 6:15
For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face…
- Deuteronomy 6:15
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.