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Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:
Numbers 21:17 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, well! Sing to it,
  • BSB Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well, all of you sing to it!
  • NKJV Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well! All of you sing to it—
  • NASB Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well! Sing to it!
  • NLT There the Israelites sang this song: “Spring up, O well! Yes, sing its praises!

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

Israel sang a song calling on the well to spring up. The people responded to God's gift with joyful praise.

Overview

This brief song of celebration contrasts sharply with the earlier complaints over water. Singing to the well expresses gratitude for God's provision and trust in His promise. The thankful spirit marks a hopeful note as the wilderness years end.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Judg 5:1Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
  • Jas 5:13Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
  • Ps 106:12Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
  • Exod 15:1–2Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
  • Ps 105:2Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.
  • Isa 12:5Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.
  • Isa 12:1–2And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Numbers videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Numbers 21:17YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NumbersMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 21:17 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.