Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah.
Parallel translations
- WEB The Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even to Hormah.
- KJV And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.
- NKJV And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you as bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah.
- NASB And the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do, and they scattered you from Seir to Hormah.
- NLT But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Amorites came out, chased Israel like bees, and defeated them as far as Hormah. Acting without God brought the predicted defeat.
Overview
The vivid image of being chased 'as bees do' captures the humiliating rout Israel suffered when they fought without God's presence. The defeat confirmed God's warning and the futility of presumption. This episode teaches that disobedience, even when cloaked in religious zeal, leads to ruin. True victory comes only through dependence on God, ultimately the victory secured for His people by Christ alone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 118:12They swarmed around me like bees, but they were extinguished like burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
- Num 14:45Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them all the way to Hormah.
- Num 21:3And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah.
- Isa 7:18On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.
- Deut 32:30How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- Deut 28:25The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 1:44 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.