So they, and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol. The earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.
Parallel translations
- KJV They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
- BSB They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.
- NKJV So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.
- NASB So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
- NLT So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people 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
They went down alive into Sheol, the earth closed over them, and they perished from the assembly. The rebels were utterly removed from God's people.
Overview
The rebels descend living into the grave, and the earth seals over them, cutting them off entirely from Israel. Their complete removal portrays the fate of those who set themselves against God. This sobering picture foreshadows the final separation of the unrepentant from the people of God (Matthew 25:46).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ezek 32:30There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame; and they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
- Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
- Ps 55:23But you, God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in you.
- Ezek 32:18Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, to the lower parts of the earth, with those who go down into the pit.
- Ps 143:7Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit.
- Isa 14:15Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit.
- Ps 9:15The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
- Ps 69:15Don’t let the flood waters overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up. Don’t let the pit shut its mouth on me.
- Isa 14:9Sheol from beneath has moved for you to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the departed spirits for you, even all the rulers of the earth. It has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 16:33 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.