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.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- 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 be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
- Jude 1:11Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
- Ps 55:23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
- Ezek 32:18Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
- Ps 143:7Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
- Isa 14:15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
- Ps 9:15The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
- Ps 69:15Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
- Isa 14:9Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath 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.