And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
Parallel translations
- WEB Israel vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”
- BSB So Israel made a vow to the LORD: “If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction.”
- NKJV So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”
- NASB So Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed hand over this people to me, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”
- NLT Then the people of Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will hand these people over to us, we will completely destroy all their towns.”
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 vowed to the Lord that if He gave victory, they would utterly destroy the enemy cities. The people responded to attack with a vow of devotion to God.
Overview
Rather than despairing, Israel turns to the Lord and pledges to devote the conquered cities to Him as 'herem,' wholly given over to destruction. This vow recognizes that victory comes from God and belongs to Him. The act of devoting the cities reflects God's judgment on Canaanite wickedness, executed through His covenant people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Gen 28:20And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
- Judg 11:30And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
- Josh 6:26And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.
- 1 Sam 1:11And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
- Ps 132:2How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;
- 2 Sam 15:7–8And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD, in Hebron.
- Deut 13:15Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.
- Ps 56:12–13Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.
- Lev 27:28–29Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.
- Ps 116:18I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
- Josh 6:17And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
- 1 Cor 16:22If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
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 21:2 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.