Numbers 31 · Verse 2

Numbers 31:2

Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
Numbers 31:2, King James Version

Numbers 31:2 in other translations

BSB“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”
WEB“Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”
ASVAvenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
YLT‘Execute the vengeance of the sons of Israel against the Midianites--afterwards thou art gathered unto thy people.'
DARBYAvenge the children of Israel upon the Midianites; afterwards shalt thou be gathered unto thy peoples.
BBEGive the Midianites punishment for the wrong they did to the children of Israel: and after that you will go to rest with your people.
WebsterAvenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered to thy people.

What does Numbers 31:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 31:1-2

Nu 31:1-54. The Midianites Spoiled and Balaam Slain. 1-2. the Lord spake unto Moses, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites--a semi-nomad people, descended from Abraham and Keturah, occupying a tract of country east and southeast of Moab, which lay on the eastern coast of the Dead Sea. They seem to have been the principal instigators of the infamous scheme of seduction, planned to entrap the Israelites into…

Read the full comment on Numbers 31:1-2 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Gathered unto thy people - Where? Not in the grave surely. Moses was gathered with none of them, his burial-place no man ever knew. "But being gathered unto one's people means dying." It does imply dying, but it does not mean this only. The truth is, God considers all those who are dead to men in a state of conscious existence in another world. Therefore he calls himself the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; now God is not the God of the dead, but of the living; because all Live to Him, whether dead to men or not. Moses therefore was to be gathered to his people - to enter into that republic of Israel which, having died in the faith, fear, and love of God, were now living in a state of conscious blessedness beyond the confines of the grave. See the note on Gen 25:8, and Gen 49:33 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 31:1-6

All who, without commission from God, dare to execute private revenge, and who, from ambition, covetousness, or resentment, wage war and desolate kingdoms, must one day answer for it. But if God, instead of sending an earthquake, a pestilence, or a famine, be pleased to authorize and command any people to avenge his cause, such a commission surely is just and right. The Israelites could show such a commission…

Read the full comment on Numbers 31:1-6 →

Numbers 31:2 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.

נְקֹ֗םne.KomavengeH5358
נִקְמַת֙nik.Mat[the] vengeance ofH5360
בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei[the] people ofH1121
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
מֵאֵ֖תme.'Etfrom withH854
הַמִּדְיָנִ֑יםha.mid.ya.Nimthe MidianitesH4084
אַחַ֖ר'a.CharafterH310
תֵּאָסֵ֥ףte.'a.Sefyou will be gatheredH622
אֶל\־'el-toH413
עַמֶּֽיךָ\׃'a.Mei.khapeople<s> yourH5971

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

Cross references for Numbers 31:2

  • Numbers 27:13

    And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered.

  • Numbers 25:14-18

    Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Vex the Midianites, and smite them: …

  • Judges 2:10

    And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

  • Revelation 6:10

    And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

  • Psalms 94:1-3

    O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?

  • Genesis 25:8

    Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

  • Numbers 31:3

    And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian.

  • Deuteronomy 32:35

    To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

  • Revelation 18:20

    Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

  • Judges 16:24

    And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

  • Isaiah 1:24

    Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

  • Numbers 20:26

    And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Avenge.
3; 25:17,18; De 32:35; Jud 16:24,28-30; Ps 94:1-3; Isa 1:24
Na 1:2; Lu 21:22; Ro 12:19; 13:4; 1Th 4:6; Heb 10:30; Re 6:10
Re 18:20; 19:2
the Midianites.
25:6,14-18; Ge 25:1-4; Ex 2:16
gathered.
27:13; Ge 15:15; 25:8,17; Jud 2:10; Ac 13:36

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

Context

  • Numbers 31:1

    And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

  • Numbers 31:2

    Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.

  • Numbers 31:3

    And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian.

Read all of Numbers 31

Numbers 31:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Haz la venganza de los hijos de Israel sobre los Madianitas; después serás recogido á tus pueblos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Exécute la vengeance des fils d’Israël sur les Madianites; ensuite tu seras recueilli vers tes peuples.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Übe Rache für die Kinder Israel an den Midianitern; danach sollst du zu deinen Völkern versammelt werden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ulciscere prius filios Israël de Madianitis, et sic colligeris ad populum tuum.