Numbers 11 · Verse 17

Numbers 11:17

And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
Numbers 11:17, King James Version

Numbers 11:17 in other translations

BSBAnd I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.
WEBI will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit which is on you, and will put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you don’t bear it yourself alone.
ASVAnd I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
YLTand I have come down and spoken with thee there, and have kept back of the Spirit which is upon thee, and have put on them, and they have borne with thee some of the burden of the people, and thou dost not bear it thyself alone.
DARBYAnd I will come down and talk with thee there; and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, and thou shalt not bear it alone.
BBEAnd I will come down and have talk with you there: and I will take some of the spirit which is on you and put it on them, and they will take part of the weight of the people off you, so that you do not have to take it by yourself.
WebsterAnd I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou mayest not bear it thyself alone.

What does Numbers 11:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 11:16-17

16-17. the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders--(Ex 3:16; 5:6; 24:9; 18:21, 24; Le 4:15). An order of seventy was to be created, either by a selection from the existing staff of elders or by the appointment of new ones, empowered to assist him by their collective wisdom and experience in the onerous cares of government. The Jewish writers say that this was the origin of the Sanhedrin, or…

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Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 17 I will take of the spirit which is upon thee - From this place Origen and Theodoret take occasion to compare Moses to a lamp, at which seventy others were lighted, without losing any of its brightness. To convince Moses that God had sufficiently qualified him for the work which he had given him to do, he tells him that of the gifts and graces which he has given him he will qualify seventy persons to bear the charge with him. This was probably intended as a gracious reproof. Query. Did not Moses lose a measure of his gifts in this business? And is it not right that he whom God has called to and qualified for some particular office, should lose those gifts which he either undervalues or refuses to employ for God in the way appointed? Is there not much reason to believe that many cases have occurred where the spiritual endowments of particular persons have been taken away and given to others who made a better use of them? Hence the propriety of that exhortation, Rev 3:11 : Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. The gracious God never called a man to perform a work without furnishing him with adequate strength; and to refuse to do it on the pretense of inability is little short of rebellion against God. This institution of the seventy persons to help Moses the rabbins consider as the origin of their grand council called the Sanhedrin. But we find that a council of seventy men, elders of Israel, had existed among the people a year before this time. See Exo 24:9 (note); see the advice given to Jethro to Moses, Exo 18:17 (note), etc., and the notes there.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 11:16-23

Moses is to choose such as he knew to be elders, that is, wise and experienced men. God promises to qualify them. If they were not found fit for the employ, they should be made fit. Even the discontented people shall be gratified too, that every mouth may be stopped. See here, I. The vanity of all the delights of sense; they will cloy, but they will not satisfy. Spiritual pleasures alone will satisfy and last. As…

Read the full comment on Numbers 11:16-23 →

Numbers 11:17 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְיָרַדְתִּ֗יve.ya.rad.Tiand I will come downH3381
וְדִבַּרְתִּ֣יve.di.bar.Tiand I will speakH1696
עִמְּךָ֮'i.me.Khawith youH5973
שָׁם֒shamthereH8033
וְאָצַלְתִּ֗יve.'a.tzal.Tiand I will shareH680
מִן\־min-some ofH4480
הָר֛וּחַha.Ru.achthe spiritH7307
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834
עָלֶ֖יךָ'a.Lei.kha[is] on youH5921
וְשַׂמְתִּ֣יve.sam.Tiand I will put [it]H7760
עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם'a.lei.Hemon themH5921
וְנָשְׂא֤וּve.na.se.'Uand they will carryH5375
אִתְּךָ֙'i.te.Khawith youH854
בְּמַשָּׂ֣אbe.ma.Sa'in [the] burden ofH4853
הָעָ֔םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
וְלֹא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
תִשָּׂ֥אti.Sa'you will carry [it]H5375
אַתָּ֖ה'a.TahyouH859
לְבַדֶּֽךָ\׃le.va.De.khato alone youH905

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 11:17

  • 1 Samuel 10:6

    And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

  • Numbers 11:25

    And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

  • 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

    Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. …

  • 2 Kings 2:9

    And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

  • 2 Kings 2:15

    And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

  • 1 Corinthians 2:12

    Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

  • Joel 2:28

    And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

  • Isaiah 59:20-21

    And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

  • Romans 8:9

    But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

  • Exodus 19:20

    And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

  • Exodus 18:22

    And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

  • 1 Thessalonians 4:8

    He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I will come.
25; 12:5; Ge 11:5; 18:21; Ex 19:11,20; 34:5; Joh 3:13
talk with.
12:8; Ge 17:3,22; 18:20-22,33
I will take.
27:18; 1Sa 10:6; 2Ki 2:9,15; Ne 9:20; Isa 44:3; 59:20,21
Joe 2:28; Joh 7:39; Ro 8:9; 1Co 2:12; 12:4-11; 1Th 4:8; 1Pe 1:22
Jude 1:19
they shall.
Ex 18:22; Ac 6:3,4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Numbers 11:16

    And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

  • Numbers 11:17

    And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.

  • Numbers 11:18

    And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

Read all of Numbers 11

Numbers 11:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y yo descenderé y hablaré allí contigo; y tomaré del espíritu que está en ti, y pondré en ellos; y llevarán contigo la carga del pueblo, y no la llevarás tú solo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et je descendrai, et je parlerai là avec toi, et j’ôterai de l’Esprit qui est sur toi, et je le mettrai sur eux, afin qu’ils portent avec toi le fardeau du peuple, et que tu ne le portes pas toi seul.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und ich werde herniederkommen und daselbst mit dir reden, und ich werde von dem Geiste nehmen, der auf dir ist, und auf sie legen, daß sie mit dir an der Last des Volkes tragen, und du sie nicht allein tragest.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		ut descendam et loquar tibi: et auferam de spiritu tuo, tradamque eis, ut sustentent tecum onus populi, et non tu solus graveris.