Then the Lord was very angry with them, and he vowed,
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh’s anger burned in that day, and he swore, saying,
- KJV And the LORD’s anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,
- BSB So the anger of the LORD was kindled that day, and He swore an oath, saying,
- NKJV So the Lord’s anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying,
- NASB So the Lord’s anger burned on that day, and He swore, saying,
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's anger was kindled that day, and He swore a solemn oath in response to Israel's unbelief. It shows that rejecting God's promise provokes His righteous judgment.
Overview
Israel's refusal at Kadesh moved the LORD to anger and to a binding oath of judgment. The verse displays the seriousness with which God regards distrust of His word. His holiness will not treat persistent unbelief lightly, yet even His judgment serves to preserve a faithful people and ultimately points to the need for a Mediator who perfectly trusts and obeys.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Num 14:11Yahweh said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have worked among them?
- Ps 95:11Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They won’t enter into my rest.”
- Num 14:23surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of those who despised me see it.
- Num 14:21but in very deed, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with Yahweh’s glory;
- Deut 1:34–40Yahweh heard the voice of your words, and was angry, and swore, saying,
- Num 14:29Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all who were counted of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against me,
- Heb 3:8–19don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness,
- Ezek 20:15Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
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 32:10 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.