And when it rested, he said: “Return, O Lord, To the many thousands of Israel.”
Parallel translations
- WEB When it rested, he said, “Return, Yahweh, to the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel.”
- KJV And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.
- BSB And when it came to rest, he would say: “Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel.”
- NASB And when it came to rest, he said, “Return, Lord, To the myriad thousands of Israel.”
- NLT And when the Ark was set down, he would say, “Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel!”
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
When the ark rested, Moses prayed for God to return to the multitudes of Israel. He sought God's abiding presence among His people at rest.
Overview
At each stopping point Moses prayed for the Lord to dwell again among the vast company of Israel. The prayer expresses longing for God's continual presence both in movement and in rest, a desire fulfilled in Christ, Immanuel, God with us, who dwells among His people forever.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Deut 1:10Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as the stars of the sky for multitude.
- Gen 24:60They blessed Rebekah, and said to her, “Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your offspring possess the gate of those who hate them.”
- Isa 63:17O Yahweh, why do you make us wander from your ways, and harden our heart from your fear? Return for your servants’ sake, the tribes of your inheritance.
- Ps 90:13–17Relent, Yahweh! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 10:36 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.