Who can count Jacob’s descendants, as numerous as dust? Who can count even a fourth of Israel’s people? Let me die like the righteous; let my life end like theirs.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Who can count the dust of Jacob, or count the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous! Let my last end be like his!”
- KJV Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
- BSB Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!”
- NKJV “Whocan count the dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!”
- NASB “Who has counted the dust of Jacob, Or the number of the fourth part of Israel? May I die the death of the upright, And may my end be like his!”
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
Balaam marvels at Israel's countless multitude and wishes to die the death of the righteous. He glimpses the blessing he cannot give himself.
Overview
The innumerable 'dust of Jacob' recalls God's promises to Abraham (Genesis 13:16; 28:14), now being fulfilled. Balaam's longing to die like the righteous is poignant, for he desires their end without sharing their faith or life. The verse warns that admiring God's people from a distance is no substitute for belonging to them through true faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Ps 37:37Mark the perfect man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.
- Gen 13:16I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring may also be counted.
- Ps 116:15Precious in Yahweh’s sight is the death of his saints.
- Rev 14:13I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.”
- 2 Cor 5:1For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
- 2 Tim 4:6–8For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come.
- Isa 57:1–2The righteous perish, and no one lays it to heart. Merciful men are taken away, and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil.
- 1 Cor 15:53–57For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
- Gen 22:17that I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your offspring greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gate of his enemies.
- Num 2:24“All who were counted of the camp of Ephraim were one hundred eight thousand one hundred, according to their divisions. They shall set out third.
- Num 2:9All who were counted of the camp of Judah were one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred, according to their divisions. They shall set out first.
- Prov 14:32The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.
- Gen 28:14Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring will all the families of the earth be blessed.
- Num 2:31“All who were counted of the camp of Dan were one hundred fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They shall set out last by their standards.”
- Phil 1:21–23For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
- Luke 2:29–30“Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace;
- Num 2:16“All who were counted of the camp of Reuben were one hundred fifty-one thousand four hundred fifty, according to their armies. They shall set out second.
- 1 Cor 3:21–22Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,
- 2 Pet 1:13–15I think it right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 23:10 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.