Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Harass the Midianites, and strike them; for they harassed you with their wiles, wherein they have deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the incident regarding Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.”
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“Harass the Midianites, and strike them;
for they harassed you with their wiles, wherein they have deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the incident regarding Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.”
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And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Vex the Midianites, and smite them:
For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor’s sake.
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And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
'Harass the Midianites, and smite them;
for they harass you, by their wiles wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor.'
Cross-references (11)
- Revelation 2:14 (v18) But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling…
- Genesis 3:13 (v18) Yahweh God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
- Genesis 26:10 (v18) Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought…
- Exodus 32:21 (v18) Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”
- Exodus 32:35 (v18) Yahweh struck the people, because of what they did with the calf, which Aaron made.
Show all 11 cross-references
- Numbers 31:1-3 (v17) Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” Moses…
- Numbers 31:15-16 (v18) Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to…
- 2 Corinthians 11:3 (v18) But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is…
- 2 Peter 2:14-15 (v18) having eyes full of adultery, and who can’t cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing;…
- 2 Peter 2:18 (v18) For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping…
- Revelation 18:6 (v17) Return to her just as she returned, and repay her double as she did, and according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix to her…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v18 Causing you to commit both corporal and spiritual fornication…
Causing you to commit both corporal and spiritual fornication by Balaam’s counsel, Num. 31:16; Rev. 2:14.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv17–18 Num 25:17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them:
Num 25:17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them:
Ver. 17. Vex the Midianites.] As more malicious and mischievous than the Moabites; as appears, (1.) By their detaining of Balaam, when the Moabites dismissed him in great displeasure; (2.) By the wickedness of their women, who by Cozbi may seem to have been meretrices meretricissimae, such as afterwards was Julia, Messalina, and that Romish Lucretia, concubine to Pope Alexander VI., of whom Pontanus, {a}
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“ Hoc tumulo dormit Lucretia nomine, sed re
Thais, Alexandri filia, sponsa, nurus. ”
{a} Lib. ii. tum.
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 On vv17–18 And why not the Moabites, who were as guilty,…
And why not the Moabites, who were as guilty, Num 25:1?
Answ. 1. Because God will reserve to himself a liberty of punishing or sparing, according to his own good pleasure.
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2. God had a kindness for the Moabites for Lot’s sake, Deu 2:9.
3. God punished the Moabites in another manner, partly, by his own immediate hand, whereby it is probable he cut off those Moabitish women that were guilty of this fact; partly, by a particular and dreadful kind of excommunication, Deu 23:3; and partly, by impunity, which in its consequences is commonly worse and more pernicious than any or all temporal punishments, which none that believes the Bible can deny.
4. It is probable the Midianites were most guilty, as in persuading Balak to send for Balaam, as may be gathered from Num 22:4,7; so in the reception of Balaam after Balak had dismissed him, Num 31:8, and in further consultation with him, and in contriving the means for the executing of this wicked plot.
Smite them, i.e. kill them; in which words, as there is a command to war against them, so there is a promise of success.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v16 God had punished the Israelites for their sin with…
God had punished the Israelites for their sin with a plague; as a Father he corrected his own children with a rod. But we read not that any of the Midianites died of the plague; God took another course with them, and punished them with the sword of an enemy, not with the rod of a father. 1. Moses, though the meekest man, and far from a spirit of revenge, is ordered to vex the Midianites and smite them, Num 25:17. Note, We must set ourselves against that, whatever it is, which is an occasion of sin to us, though it be a right eye or a right hand that thus offends us, Mat 5:29, Mat 5:30. This is that holy indignation and revenge which godly sorrow worketh, Co2 7:11. 2. The reason given for the meditating of this revenge is because they vex you with their wiles, Num 25:18. Note, Whatever draws us to sin should be a vexation to us, as a thorn in the flesh. The mischief which the Midianites did to Israel by enticing them to whoredom must be remembered and punished with as much severity as that which the Amalekites did in fighting with them when they came out of Egypt, Exo 17:14. God will certainly reckon with those that do the devil's work in tempting men to sin. See further orders given in this matter, Num 31:2.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv16–17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them. Go to war…
Vex the Midianites, and smite them. Go to war with them, and smite them with the sword; not the Moabites, but the Midianites, though they were both confederates against Israel; but God had given a charge not to contend in battle with Moab, Deu 2:9, they were spared for the sake of Lot, from whom they sprang; and, as Jarchi says, for the sake of Ruth, who was to come from them; and so in the Talmud (l); though they did not entirely escape the divine resentment, as appears from Deu 23:3 but the Midianites were the first that advised to send for Balaam, and with them he stayed and was entertained, after he had been dismissed by Balak; and it seems as if it was to them he gave the wicked counsel, to draw Israel into fornication, and so into idolatry, and thereby bring the curse of God upon them; which advice they communicated to the Moabites, and both were concerned in putting it into execution; see Num 22:4.
(l) T. Bab. Bava Kama, fol. 38. 2.
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 On vv17–18 The Midianites - And why not the Moabites. It…
The Midianites - And why not the Moabites. It is probable the Midianites were most guilty, as in persuading Balak to send for Balaam, chap. xxii, 4, 7. So in the reception of Balaam after Balak had dismissed him, chap. xxxi, 8, and in farther consultation with him, and in contriving the means for the executing of this wicked plot.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v17 Verse 17. Vex the Midianites, &c.] See this order…
Verse 17. Vex the Midianites, &c.] See this order fulfilled, Nu 31:1-20. Twelve thousand Israelites attacked the Midianites, destroyed all their cities, slew their five kings, every male, and every grown up woman, and took all their spoils.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv17–18 Num 25:17. Vex the Midianites — It is probable,…
Num 25:17. Vex the Midianites — It is probable, from Num 25:6, compared with Num 21:16, that the Midianites had had the principal hand in seducing the Israelites into this shameful revolt from the worship of God to the vile sacrifices of Baal-peor, and in causing this open and impudent affront to be put upon the professors of the true religion in the matter of Zimri, to whom they prostituted a daughter of one of their most honourable families, to procure the disgrace and destruction of the Israelites; therefore, in just retribution for their wickedness, God commands Moses to be ready at a time he should appoint to attack their country with his whole force, and give them a fatal overthrow.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v17 Madianites. God spared the Moabites for the sake of…
Madianites. God spared the Moabites for the sake of Lot (Deuteronomy ii. 19,) and of Ruth, of whom David and Christ should be born. They were perhaps less guilty, but they did not escape due chastisement under David, 2 Kings viii. 2. (Menochius) --- The war against Madian was the last which the Hebrews waged in the lifetime of Moses, chap. xxxi. (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 On vv17–18 Vex the Midianites, and smite them--They seem to have…
Vex the Midianites, and smite them--They seem to have been the most guilty parties. (Compare Num 22:4; Num 31:8).
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 On vv17–18 WAR AGAINST MIDIAN COMMANDED, Num_25:16-18.
WAR AGAINST MIDIAN COMMANDED, Num_25:16-18.
17. Vex the Midianites — Although Midian and Moab were united in bringing Balaam from the east, (Num_22:4; Num_22:7,) and the daughters of Moab were associated with those of Midian in seducing Israel, yet only Midian provoked Jehovah to a declaration of war at this time, possibly because Moab was not so forward in this iniquity. Says Ainsworth, “For though Baalam gave counsel to the king of Moab, (Rev_2:14,) and the Moabitish women were prostitute also unto whoredom, yet Balak at first did not much regard that counsel, but turned Balaam away with shame, but the Midianites retained him, and among them he was slain.”
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 On v16 16–18. are an editorial note. The compiler who placed…
16–18. are an editorial note. The compiler who placed side by side the two narratives in Num_25:1-15 here combines them in such a way as to represent the Midianites as responsible for tempting Israel in both cases. And at the same time he anticipates the command given to Moses in Num_31:1.
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 On v17 (17) Vex the Midianites, and smite them.—The Midianites appear…
(17) Vex the Midianites, and smite them.—The Midianites appear to have been joint actors with the Moabites throughout the whole of the opposition which was offered to Israel, and the chief actors in the wiles by which the Israelites were seduced. As the descendants of Abraham, the father of the faithful, the Midianites ought to have feared and obeyed Abraham’s God, and to have shown brotherly kindness to His people, who were their own kindred. The special judgments of God are directed against the sins of apostacy and of seduction. (Comp. Rev_2:14; Rev_18:6.) Although the Moabites were not to be smitten with the Midianites (see Deu_2:9), nevertheless they did not escape punishment, but were shut out, even to the tenth generation, from the congregation of the Lord. (See Deu_23:3-4.) Their exemption at this time from the judgment executed upon the Midianites was probably due, not to their descent from Lot (for the Midianites were descended from Abraham), but to the fact that the measure of their sin was not yet full. (Comp. Gen_15:16.)
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 On v17 Vex the Midianites. The Moabites, although the evil began…
Vex the Midianites. The Moabites, although the evil began with them, were passed over; perhaps because they were still protected by the Divine injunction (Deu_2:9) not to meddle with them; more probably because their sin had not the same studied and deliberate character as the sin of the Midianites. We may think of the women of Moab as merely indulging their individual passions after their wonted manner, but of the women of Midian as employed by their rulers, on the advice of Balsam, in a deliberate plot to entangle the Israelites in heathen rites and heathen sins which would alienate from them the favour of God.
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 On v16 with their deceitfulness
with their deceitfulness
The abstract noun "deceitfulness" can be stated as a verb. AT: "by deceiving you" (See: Abstract Nouns)
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They led you into evil
"They persuaded you to do this evil thing"
in the case of Peor ... in the matter of Peor
Both of these phrases mean that these things happened at Mount Peor.
Peor
Peor was the name of a mountain. See how you translated this in Numbers 23:28.
who was killed
This can be stated in active form. AT: "whom Phinehas killed" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Moses
adversary
deceive
plague
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 On v16 25:16-18 Attack the Midianites and destroy them: This war…
25:16-18 Attack the Midianites and destroy them: This war is recorded in ch 31.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.