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A ruler will come from Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.”
Numbers 24:19 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city.”
  • KJV Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
  • NKJV Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, And destroy the remains of the city.”
  • NASB “One from Jacob shall rule, And will eliminate the survivors from the city.”
  • NLT A ruler will rise in Jacob who will destroy the survivors of Ir.”

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

A ruler will come from Jacob who will exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of the city. The prophecy points to a victorious king from Israel.

Overview

This concluding line of the oracle reaffirms that a sovereign ruler will arise from Israel to subdue enemy strongholds. It reaches its first horizon in David's conquests but ultimately anticipates the universal dominion of the Messiah. The God who blesses Israel will raise up the King through whom His purposes for the nations are accomplished.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Mic 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
  • Matt 28:18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
  • Ps 2:1–12Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
  • Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
  • Isa 11:10On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.
  • Ps 72:10–11May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
  • Matt 25:46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
  • 1 Pet 3:22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.
  • Mic 5:4He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.
  • Ps 21:7–10For the king trusts in the LORD; through the loving devotion of the Most High, he will not be shaken.
  • Luke 19:27And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
  • Eph 1:20–22which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,
  • 1 Cor 15:25For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
  • Rev 19:16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
  • Phil 2:10–11that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
  • Heb 1:8But about the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.
  • Luke 19:12So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return.

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 24:19YouTube · 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 24:19 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.