And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.
Parallel translations
- WEB All their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire.
- BSB Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments,
- NKJV They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts.
- NASB Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their encampments.
- NLT They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived.
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 burned all the Midianite cities and encampments with fire.
Overview
The destruction of Midian's settlements completed the judgment on their land and presence in the region. Fire symbolized the thorough removal of a corrupting influence from God's people. Such acts in redemptive history display the seriousness with which God treats sin that endangers His covenant nation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Kgs 9:16For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
- Gen 25:16These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
- Rev 18:8Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
- Isa 1:7Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
- 1 Sam 30:1And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
- Josh 6:24And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.
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 31:10 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.