A ruler will rise in Jacob who will destroy the survivors of Ir.”
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.
- BSB A ruler will come from Jacob and destroy the survivors 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.”
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, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
- Matt 28:18Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
- Ps 2:1–12Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
- Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.
- Isa 11:10It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious.
- Ps 72:10–11The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
- Matt 25:46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- 1 Pet 3:22who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.
- Mic 5:4He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God: and they will live, for then he will be great to the ends of the earth.
- Ps 21:7–10For the king trusts in Yahweh. Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.
- Luke 19:27But bring those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.’”
- Eph 1:20–22which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
- 1 Cor 15:25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
- Rev 19:16He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
- Phil 2:10–11that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
- Heb 1:8But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
- Luke 19:12He said therefore, “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
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 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.