Numbers 21:18
16 From there they went on to Beer, the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people so that I may give them water.”
17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well, all of you sing to it!
The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with their scepters and with their staffs.” From the wilderness the Israelites went on to Mattanah,
19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,
20 and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with their scepters and with their staffs.” From the wilderness the Israelites went on to Mattanah,
- KJV
- The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:
- WEB
- the well, which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter, and with their poles.” From the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah;
- ASV
- The well, which the princes digged, Which the nobles of the people delved, With the sceptre, [and] with their staves. And from the wilderness [they journeyed] to Mattanah;
- DARBY
- Well which princes digged, which the nobles of the people hollowed out at [the word of] the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness [they went] to Mattanah;
- BLB
- The princes dug the well, the nobles of the nation hollowed it out by the lawgiver, by their staffs.” And from the wilderness [they went] to Mattanah,
- ÅB
- Du brønn som høvdinger har gravd, som folkets ypperste har boret med herskerstav, med sine kongespir! Fra ørkenen brøt de opp til Matana
- OTB
- Brønnen, som lederne gravde, som folkets fornemme hullete ut med septer og staver.» Deretter dro de fra ørkenen til Mattana,
- B1930
- Du brønn som høvdinger har gravd, som folkets ypperste har boret med herskerstav, med sine kongespir! Fra ørkenen brøt de op til Matana
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Isaiah 33:22
For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.
Read in contextDeuteronomy 33:4
the law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob.
Read in contextDeuteronomy 5:31
But you stand here with Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and statutes and ordinances you are to teach them to follow in the land that I am giving them to possess.”
Read in contextJames 4:12
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Read in contextJohn 1:17
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Read in context1 Timothy 6:17–18
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
Read in context2 Chronicles 17:7–9
In the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat sent his officials Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah,
Read in contextNehemiah 3:1
At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated the wall.
Read in context