Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole. It shall happen, that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”
- KJV And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
- NKJV Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
- NASB Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live.”
- NLT Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!”
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
God told Moses to make a snake and set it on a pole, so that anyone bitten who looked at it would live. Salvation came by faith-filled looking to God's appointed remedy.
Overview
God provides a way of life amid judgment: not by removing the serpents, but by giving a means of healing through faith. The simple act of looking expressed trust in God's word and gracious provision. Jesus draws on this very scene to explain His own death: 'as Moses lifted up the serpent... so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life' (John 3:14-15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- John 3:14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
- Ps 106:43–45Many times He rescued them, but they were bent on rebellion and sank down in their iniquity.
- Ps 145:8The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
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 21:8 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
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