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Numbers 24:21-23
New English Translation
Numbers 24:21-23
New English Translation
21 Then he looked on the Kenites and uttered this oracle:
“Your dwelling place seems strong,
and your nest[a] is set on a rocky cliff.
22 Nevertheless the Kenite will be consumed.[b]
How long will Asshur take you away captive?”
23 Then he uttered this oracle:
“O, who will survive when God does this![c]
Footnotes
- Numbers 24:21 sn A pun is made on the name Kenite by using the word “your nest” (קִנֶּךָ, qinnekha); the location may be the rocky cliffs overlooking Petra.
- Numbers 24:22 tc Heb “Nevertheless Cain will be wasted; how long will Asshur take you captive?” Cain was believed to be the ancestor of the Kenites. The NAB has “yet destined for burning, even as I watch, are your inhabitants.” Asshur may refer to a north Arabian group of people of Abrahamic stock (Gen 25:3), and not the Assyrian empire.
- Numbers 24:23 tc Because there is no parallel line, some have thought that it dropped out (see de Vaulx, Les Nombres, 296).
Numbers 24:21-23
New International Version
Numbers 24:21-23
New International Version
Balaam’s Sixth Message
21 Then he saw the Kenites(A) and spoke his message:
“Your dwelling place is secure,(B)
your nest is set in a rock;
22 yet you Kenites will be destroyed
when Ashur(C) takes you captive.”
Balaam’s Seventh Message
23 Then he spoke his message:
“Alas! Who can live when God does this?[a]
Footnotes
- Numbers 24:23 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew The people from the islands will gather from the north.
New English Translation (NET)
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