For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore you and all your company have gathered together against Yahweh! What is Aaron that you murmur against him?”
- BSB Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the LORD! As for Aaron, who is he that you should grumble against him?”
- NKJV Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. And what is Aaron that you complain against him?”
- NASB Therefore you and your whole group are the ones gathered together against the Lord; but as for Aaron, who is he, that you grumble against him?”
- NLT The Lord is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?”
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
Moses tells them their gathering is ultimately against the LORD himself, not merely against Aaron. To reject God's appointed servant is to reject God.
Overview
Moses unmasks the true nature of the rebellion: by opposing the leaders God appointed, they are opposing God. Their murmuring against Aaron is murmuring against the LORD who chose him. This sobering truth carries into the gospel, where to reject Christ, God's appointed one, is to reject the Father who sent him (Luke 10:16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Exod 16:7–8And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?
- Exod 17:2Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
- Num 16:3And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?
- 1 Cor 3:5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
- Rom 13:2Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
- Acts 5:4Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
- Luke 10:16He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
- 1 Sam 8:7And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
- John 13:20Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
- 1 Cor 10:10Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
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 16:11 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.