Numbers 24 · Verse 7

Numbers 24:7

He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
Numbers 24:7, King James Version

Numbers 24:7 in other translations

BSBWater will flow from his buckets, and his seed will have abundant water. His king will be greater than Agag, and his kingdom will be exalted.
WEBWater shall flow from his buckets. His seed shall be in many waters. His king shall be higher than Agag. His kingdom shall be exalted.
ASVWater shall flow from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.
YLTHe maketh water flow from his buckets, And his seed is in many waters; And higher than Agag is his king, And exalted is his kingdom.
DARBYWater shall flow out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in great waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
BBEPeoples will be in fear before his strength, his arm will be on great nations: his king will be higher than Agag, and his kingdom made great in honour.
WebsterHe shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

What does Numbers 24:7 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 24:5-7

5-7. How goodly are thy tents, ... O Israel!--a fine burst of admiration, expressed in highly poetical strains. All travellers describe the beauty which the circular area of Bedouin tents impart to the desert. How impressive, then, must have been the view, as seen from the heights of Abarim, of the immense camp of Israel extended over the subjacent plains.

Read the full comment on Numbers 24:5-7 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, etc. - Here is a very plain allusion to their method of raising water in different parts of the East. By the well a tall pole is erected, which serves as a fulcrum to a very long lever, to the smaller end of which a bucket is appended. On the opposite end, which is much larger, are many notches cut in the wood, which serve as steps for a man, whose business it is to climb up to the fulcrum, in order to lower the bucket into the well, which, when filled, he raises by walking back on the opposite arm, till his weight brings the bucket above the well's mouth: a person standing by the well empties the bucket into a trench, which communicates with the ground intended to be watered. His seed shall be in many waters - Another simple allusion to the sowing of rice. The ground must not only be well watered, but flooded, in order to serve for the proper growth of this grain. The rice that was sown in many waters must be the most fruitful. By an elegant and chaste metaphor all this is applied to the procreation of a numerous posterity. His king shall be higher than Agag - This name is supposed to have been as common to all the Amalekitish kings as Pharaoh was to those of Egypt. But several critics, with the Septuagint, suppose that a small change has taken place here in the original word, and that instead of מאגג meagag, than Agag, we should read מגוג miggog, than Gog. As Gog in Scripture seems to mean the enemies of God's people, then the promise here may imply that the true worshippers of the Most High shall ultimately have dominion over all their enemies.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 24:1-9

Now Balaam spake not his own sense, but the language of the Spirit that came upon him. Many have their eyes open who have not their hearts open; are enlightened, but not sanctified. That knowledge which puffs men up with pride, will but serve to light them to hell, whither many go with their eyes open. The blessing is nearly the same as those given before. He admires in Israel, their beauty. The righteous…

Read the full comment on Numbers 24:1-9 →

Numbers 24:7 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.

יִֽזַּל\־yi.zal-it will flowH5140
מַ֙יִם֙ma.yimwaterH4325
מִדָּ֣לְיָ֔וmi.Dal.Yavfrom buckets itsH1805
וְזַרְע֖וֹve.zar.'Oand offspring itsH2233
בְּמַ֣יִםbe.Ma.yim[will be] in watersH4325
רַבִּ֑יםra.BimmanyH7227
וְיָרֹ֤םve.ya.Romand he may be highH7311
מֵֽאֲגַג֙me.'a.Gagmore than AgagH90
מַלְכּ֔וֹmal.Koking itsH4428
וְתִנַּשֵּׂ֖אve.tin.na.Se'so it may be exaltedH5375
מַלְכֻתֽוֹ\׃mal.khu.Tokingdom itsH4438

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

Cross references for Numbers 24:7

  • 2 Samuel 5:12

    And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel’s sake.

  • 1 Chronicles 14:2

    And David perceived that the Lord had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel.

  • Jeremiah 51:13

    O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.

  • Revelation 17:1

    And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

  • Revelation 19:16

    And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

  • 1 Samuel 15:8-9

    And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

  • Revelation 17:15

    And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

  • Psalms 93:3-4

    The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.

  • Psalms 68:26

    Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel.

  • Isaiah 48:1

    Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.

  • 1 Kings 4:21

    And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.

  • Psalms 2:6-10

    Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. …

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
pour.
Ps 68:26; Pr 5:16-18; Isa 48:1
many waters.
Ps 93:3,4; Jer 51:13; Re 17:1,15
his king.
Ezr 4:20; Ps 2:6-10; 18:43; Joh 1:49; Php 2:10,11; Re 19:16
Agag.
1Sa 15:8,9,32,33
his kingdom.
2Sa 5:12; 1Ki 4:21; 1Ch 14:2; Isa 2:2; 9:7; Da 2:44; Re 11:15

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

Context

  • Numbers 24:6

    As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.

  • Numbers 24:7

    He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

  • Numbers 24:8

    God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

Read all of Numbers 24

Numbers 24:7 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
De sus manos destilarán aguas, y su simiente será en muchas aguas: y ensalzarse ha su rey más que Agag, y su reino será ensalzado.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
L’eau coulera de ses seaux; et sa semence sera au milieu de grandes eaux; Et son roi sera élevé au-dessus d’Agag, et son royaume sera haut élevé.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Wasser wird fließen aus seinen Eimern, und sein Same wird in großen Wassern sein; und sein König wird höher sein als Agag, und sein Königreich wird erhaben sein.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Fluet aqua de situla ejus, et semen illius erit in aquas multas. Tolletur propter Agag, rex ejus, et auferetur regnum illius.