For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they were consumed.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moreover Yahweh’s hand was against them, to destroy them from the middle of the camp, until they were consumed.
- KJV For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.
- BSB Indeed, the LORD’s hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp, until they had all perished.
- NASB Indeed, the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from within the camp until they all perished.
- NLT The Lord struck them down until they had all been eliminated from the community.
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 LORD's hand was against that generation until they were entirely consumed. God Himself enacted the judgment He had pronounced.
Overview
This verse attributes the dying out of the war generation directly to God's hand, underscoring that their end was divine judgment, not mere natural attrition. God's holiness will not leave persistent unbelief unaddressed. Yet this judgment also fulfilled His word and prepared the way for the promise to advance. The seriousness of God's hand against sin magnifies the mercy of the gospel, where that judgment falls on Christ in the place of His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 106:26Therefore he swore to them that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
- 1 Cor 10:5However with most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
- Judg 2:15Wherever they went out, Yahweh’s hand was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken, and as Yahweh had sworn to them; and they were very distressed.
- Ps 32:4For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer. Selah.
- 1 Sam 5:9It was so, that after they had carried it there, Yahweh’s hand was against the city with a very great confusion; and he struck the men of the city, both small and great so that tumors broke out on them.
- Ps 78:33Therefore he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror.
- 1 Sam 5:6But Yahweh’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders.
- 1 Sam 7:13So the Philistines were subdued, and they stopped coming within the border of Israel. Yahweh’s hand was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
- Isa 66:14You will see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones will flourish like the tender grass. Yahweh’s hand will be known among his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.
- 1 Sam 5:11They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, “Send the ark of the God of Israel away, and let it go again to its own place, that it not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly confusion throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there.
- Ps 90:7–9For we are consumed in your anger. We are troubled in your wrath.
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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 2:15 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.