Numbers 21 · Verse 2

Numbers 21:2

And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
Numbers 21:2, King James Version

Numbers 21:2 in other translations

BSBSo Israel made a vow to the LORD: “If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction.”
WEBIsrael vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”
ASVAnd Israel vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
YLTAnd Israel voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, ‘If Thou dost certainly give this people into my hand, then I have devoted their cities;'
DARBYThen Israel vowed a vow to Jehovah, and said, If thou give this people wholly into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
BBEThen Israel made an oath to the Lord, and said, If you will give up this people into my hands, then I will send complete destruction on all their towns.
WebsterAnd Israel vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.

What does Numbers 21:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 21:2-3
2-3. Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord--Made to feel their own weakness, they implored the aid of Heaven, and, in anticipation of it, devoted the cities of this king to future destruction. The nature and consequence of such anathemas are described (Le 27:1-34; De 13:1-18). This vow of extermination against Arad [Nu 21:2] gave name to the place Hormah (slaughter and destruction) though it was not accomplished till after the passage of the Jordan. Others think Hormah the name of a town mentioned (Jos 12:14).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 21:1-3

Before the people began their march round the country of Edom, the king of Arad, a Canaanite, who inhabited the southern part of the country, attacked them in the wilderness, and took some prisoners. This was to lead the Israelites to look more thoroughly to the Lord.

Read the full comment on Numbers 21:1-3 →

Numbers 21:2 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.

וַיִּדַּ֨רvai.yi.Darand it vowedH5087
יִשְׂרָאֵ֥לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
נֶ֛דֶרNe.dera vowH5088
לַֽיהוָ֖הla.Yah.wehto YahwehH3068
וַיֹּאמַ֑רvai.yo.Marand it saidH559
אִם\־'im-<if>H518
נָתֹ֨ןna.Toncertainly [if] <to give>H5414
תִּתֵּ֜ןti.Tenyou will giveH5414
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָעָ֤םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
הַזֶּה֙ha.Zeh<the> thisH2088
בְּיָדִ֔יbe.ya.Diin hand myH3027
וְהַֽחֲרַמְתִּ֖יve.ha.cha.ram.Tiand I will totally destroyH2763
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
עָרֵיהֶֽם\׃'a.rei.Hemcities theirH5892

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

Cross references for Numbers 21:2

  • Judges 11:30

    And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

  • Genesis 28:20

    And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

  • 1 Samuel 1:11

    And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

  • Joshua 6:26

    And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.

  • 2 Samuel 15:7-8

    And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord, in Hebron. For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.

  • Leviticus 27:28-29

    Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the Lord of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord. None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.

  • Psalms 56:12-13

    Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

  • Psalms 116:18

    I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people,

  • Psalms 132:2

    How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;

  • Deuteronomy 13:15

    Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.

  • Joshua 6:17

    And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
vowed.
Ge 28:20; Jud 11:30; 1Sa 1:11; 2Sa 15:7,8; Ps 56:12,13; 116:18
Ps 132:2
I will.
Le 27:28,29; De 13:15; Jos 6:17,26; 1Co 16:22

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

Context

  • Numbers 21:1

    And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.

  • Numbers 21:2

    And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.

  • Numbers 21:3

    And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.

Read all of Numbers 21

Numbers 21:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Entonces Israel hizo voto á Jehová, y dijo: Si en efecto entregares á este pueblo en mi mano, yo destruiré sus ciudades.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Israël fit un vœu à l’ Éternel, et dit: Si tu livres ce peuple en ma main, je détruirai entièrement ses villes.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Da tat Israel Jehova ein Gelübde und sprach: Wenn du dieses Volk gewißlich in meine Hand gibst, so werde ich seine Städte verbannen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
At Israël voto se Domino obligans, ait: Si tradideris populum istum in manu mea, delebo urbes ejus.