He took up his parable, and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this?
Parallel Translations
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He took up his parable, and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this?
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And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
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And he took up his parable, and said: Alas, who shall live after God hath appointed him?
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Numbers 24:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 23:23 Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘What has God done!’
- 2 Kings 5:1 Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
- Malachi 3:2 “But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderers’ soap;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Some read, Oh who shall not perish when the…
Some read, Oh who shall not perish when the enemy that is, Antichrist, shall set himself up as God?
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 24:23 And he took up his parable, and…
Num 24:23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
Ver. 23. Who shall live when, &c.] The Assyrian, that rod of God’s wrath, that overflowing scourge, shall take all afore him, shall bereave millions of their lives, as Caesar is said to have done; and of Mohammed, the first Emperor of the Turks, it is storied that he had been in his time the death of eight hundred thousand men {a}
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{a} Turk. Hist.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain How calamitous and miserable will the state of the…
How calamitous and miserable will the state of the world be, when the Assyrian, and after him the Chaldean, shall overrun and overturn all these parts of the world! who will be able to live and keep his heart from fainting under such grievous pressures? how few will then escape the destroying sword!
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim,....…
And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim,.... Kittim was the son of Javan, Gen 10:4 and so designs some part of Greece: Josephus (r) says that Kittim possessed the island now called Cyprus, in which was a city now called Citium, after his name; Macedonia, a considerable part of Greece, is called the land of Cittim,"And it happened, after that Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece,'' (1 Maccabees 1:1)"Beside this, how they had discomfited in battle Philip, and Perseus, king of the Citims, with others that lifted up themselves against them, and had overcome them:'' (1 Maccabees 8:5)but the Targum of Jonathan interprets it, of the country of Italy; the Jerusalem Targum, of the Roman legions; and perhaps both Greeks and Romans are intended, and so ships from Cittim, in Dan 11:30, design Romans in Grecian ships; for in such were the Roman ambassadors carried, who distressed Antiochus, king of Syria; see Gill on Dan 11:30; and both may be intended here: it is affirmed (s) that Noah with his son Japheth, came into the country now called Italy, and built a city, and gave it the name of Cethim, since called Volterra, and was the metropolis of Etruria, and gave name to all Italy; and that in the year two hundred and twenty from the building of that city, Cethim the son of Javan, and grandson of Noah, took two colonies with him, and sailed to an island which he called after his own name Cethim, now Cyprus:
and shall afflict Ashur; which being a part of the Persian empire, was afflicted, conquered, and subdued by Alexander the Macedonian, who is said to come out of the land of Cittim,"And it happened, after that Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece,'' (1 Maccabees 1:1)
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and shall afflict Eber; or the Hebrews, as the Septuagint version; not that the Grecians or Macedonians should do this, for they under Alexander did not afflict the Jews; unless this is to be understood of the Seleucidae, the kings of Syria, the successors of Alexander, who did distress the Jews; but rather this respects the Romans under Pompey, and especially under Titus Vespasian, who destroyed their city, and carried them captive, and who ever since have been dispersed among the nations:
and he also shall perish for ever: not Eber, but those that afflicted him, even the Romans; and indeed both monarchies, Grecian and Roman, are prophesied of as what should be destroyed, and that by a son of Eber, the Messiah; the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, said to break in pieces all these kingdoms, Dan 2:44 and not Rome Pagan only, but Rome Papal also, antichrist and all the antichristian powers, Th2 2:8. and so the Targum of Jonathan says, that the end both of the one and the other, that is, that shall afflict Eber, shall be, to fall by the hand of the King Messiah, and they shall perish for ever.
(r) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1. (s) Inghiram. Etrusc. Antiqu. apud Dickinson. Delph. Phaenic. Append. p. 153. Vid. p. 77.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Who shall live - How calamitous and miserable will…
Who shall live - How calamitous and miserable will the state of the world be, when the Assyrian, and after him the Chaldean, shall over-turn all these parts of the world? Who will be able to keep his heart from fainting under such grievous pressures? Nay, how few will escape the destroying sword?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 23. Who shall live when God doeth this!]…
Verse 23. Who shall live when God doeth this!] There are two senses in which these words may be taken: -
1. That the event is so distant that none then alive could possibly live to see it.
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2. That the times would be so distressing and desolating that scarcely any should be able to escape.
The words are very similar to those of our Lord, and probably are to be taken in the same sense: "Wo to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 24:23. Alas, who shall live — How calamitous…
Num 24:23. Alas, who shall live — How calamitous and miserable will the state of the world be, when the Assyrian, and after him the Chaldean, shall overrun and overturn all these parts of the world! Who will be able to keep his heart from fainting under such grievous pressures? Nay, how few will escape the destroying sword!
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain When God doeth this - The eventual carrying away…
When God doeth this - The eventual carrying away of the allies of Israel by Assyria presented itself to Balaam as the ruin of all peace and safety upon earth. One prediction was howerer, yet wanting, and is next given, namely, that the conquerors of the Kenites should fare no better than the Kenites themselves.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Things, of which he is about to speak. The…
Things, of which he is about to speak. The time is remote, but very dreadful, when the Assyrians shall be chastised, in their turn, as well as the Greeks and Romans, who shall have destroyed Assur, and even the most favourite nation of God. Balaam began by announcing the prosperity of the Hebrews, but he at last gives some comfort to Balac, by letting him know that they shall also be laid waste, as well as his kingdom, and the powerful nations around him. This is the condition of all human things! (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain who shall live when God doeth this!--Few shall escape…
who shall live when God doeth this!--Few shall escape the desolation that shall send a Nebuchadnezzar to scourge all those regions.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 23, 24. Alas, who shall live — The woe…
23, 24. Alas, who shall live — The woe touches the heart of Balaam because his own Mesopotamia is involved in the fearful judgment. See Num_22:5.
Chittim — Signifies (1) the island of Cyprus, (Isa_23:1;) (2) the Chittim islands, denoting the islands and coasts of the West, (Jer_2:10;) and (3) Macedonia and Italy. Dan_11:30. Keil seems to combine all these meanings, since all the Western ships took Cyprus in their way. “The nations that would come across the sea from the side of Cyprus to humble Asshur are not mentioned by name, because this lay beyond the range of Baalam’s vision.”
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Eber — The Seventy and Vulgate, Hebrews. Evidently all the posterity of Eber through Abraham.
He also shall perish forever — The conquering power from the West. Dan_7:26. “The judgment of history even upon the imperial powers of the West, and the final victory of the King of the kingdom of God were proclaimed, though in fading outlines, more than a thousand years before the events themselves.” — Tholuck. “So it came to pass when the ships of Cyprus, of Greece, of Europe, then just seen in the horizon of human hopes and fears, did at last, under the Macedonian conqueror, turn the tide of Eastern invasion backward; and Asshur and Babylon and Persia, no less than the wild hordes of the desert, perished forever from the earth.” — Stanley.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 23. when God doeth this] The only rendering which…
23. when God doeth this] The only rendering which the words will bear is ‘on account of God appointing him.’ If Num_24:21-24 were all one poem, as some think, ‘him’ might refer to Asshur, appointed by God as an instrument of destruction.
23, 24. Balaam’s last prophetic message. This is the most obscure of all the poems. The translation is uncertain, and no historical event is known to which the words can refer.
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Kittim, derived from Kitti a town in Cyprus, was a name used for Greece; cf. Gen_10:4 (where Kittim is reckoned as a son of Javan, i.e. Greece), 1Ma_1:1; 1Ma_8:5; it was also used sometimes for the Western maritime powers generally; cf. Jer_2:10, Eze_27:6. In Dan_11:30 it is even referred to the Romans; cf. Vulg. ‘Italia’ in the present passage.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (23) When God doeth this.—These words may be rendered,…
(23) When God doeth this.—These words may be rendered, since (or, from the time that) God sets (or, determines) it (or, this)—quando faciet ista Deus (Vulgate); or, because God determines it (or, this).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain When God doeth this. Literally, "from the settling of…
When God doeth this. Literally, "from the settling of it by God." lae wOmCumi, i.e., when God shall bring these terrible things to pass. Septuagint, otan yh tauta o yeov . This exclamation refers to the woe which he is about to pronounce, which involved his own people also.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Who will survive when God does this?
Who will survive when God does this?
This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. AT: "No one will survive when God does this!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
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Kittim
This is the name of a city on an island in the Mediterranean Sea. (See: How to Translate Names)
they, too, will end in destruction
The abstract noun "destruction" can be stated as an action. AT: "God will destroy them also" (See: Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
woe
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 24:23-24 The oracle ends with a word about the…
24:23-24 The oracle ends with a word about the rise and fall of invaders from Cyprus (Hebrew Kittim; this term probably referred to a number of Mediterranean people groups; cp. Gen 10:4; Jer 2:10; Dan 11:30).
24:23 This verse, like 22:12, sums up the lesson of the entire incident.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.