Numbers 24:17

Bible in Basic English (1941)

I see him, but not now: looking on him, but not near: a star will come out of Jacob, and a rod of authority out of Israel, sending destruction to the farthest limits of Moab and on the head of all the sons of Sheth.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אֶרְאֶ֙נּוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א עַתָּ֔ה אֲשׁוּרֶ֖נּוּ וְלֹ֣א קָר֑וֹב דָּרַ֨ךְ כּוֹכָ֜ב מִֽיַּעֲקֹ֗ב וְקָ֥ם שֵׁ֙בֶט֙ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וּמָחַץ֙ פַּאֲתֵ֣י מוֹאָ֔ב וְקַרְקַ֖ר כָּל־בְּנֵי־שֵֽׁת׃

Transliteration

I ʾerʾennû and not now, I ʾăšûrennû and not qārôḇ; dāraḵ kôḵāḇ from Yaʿăqōḇ, and qām šēḇeṭ from Yiśrāʾēl, and māḥaṣ paʾăṯê Môʾāḇ, and qarqar all-sons of-šēṯ.

Grammar Details

• *ʾerʾennû*: qal imperfect 1cs with 3ms suffix - 'I will see him'
• *ʾăšûrennû*: qal imperfect 1cs with 3ms suffix - 'I will behold him'
• *qārôḇ*: adjective ms - 'near'
• *dāraḵ*: qal perfect 3ms - 'he proceeded/stepped forth'
• *kôḵāḇ*: noun ms - 'star'
• *Yaʿăqōḇ*: proper noun - 'Jacob'
• *qām*: qal perfect 3ms - 'he arose'
• *šēḇeṭ*: noun ms - 'scepter/tribe/rod'
• *Yiśrāʾēl*: proper noun - 'Israel'
• *māḥaṣ*: qal perfect 3ms - 'he smote/crushed'
• *paʾăṯê*: noun dual construct - 'sides/corners of'
• *Môʾāḇ*: proper noun - 'Moab'
• *qarqar*: pilpel perfect 3ms - 'he tore down/demolished'
• *šēṯ*: proper noun - 'Seth/Sheth'

Word Meanings

• *ʾăšûrennû*: I will behold him/look at him/regard him
• *dāraḵ*: proceeded/stepped forth/tread
• *šēḇeṭ*: scepter/tribe/rod/staff
• *māḥaṣ*: smote/crushed/strike through
• *paʾăṯê*: sides/corners/temples
• *qarqar*: tear down/demolish/destroy
• *šēṯ*: Seth/Sheth/tumult

Referenced Verses

• Gen 49:10 : 10 The rod of authority will not be taken from Judah, and he will not be without a law-giver, till he comes who has the right to it, and the peoples will put themselves under his rule.
• Rev 22:16 : 16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give witness to you of these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star.
• Rev 1:7 : 7 See, he comes with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and those by whom he was wounded; and all the tribes of the earth will be sorrowing because of him. Yes, so be it.
• Zech 10:4 : 4 From him will come the keystone, from him the nail, from him the bow of war, from him will come every ruler;
• Isa 9:7 : 7 Of the increase of his rule and of peace there will be no end, on the seat of David, and in his kingdom; to make it strong, supporting it with wise decision and righteousness, now and for ever. By the fixed purpose of the Lord of armies this will be done.
• Ps 45:6 : 6 Your seat of power, O God, is for ever and ever; the rod of your kingdom is a rod of honour.
• Rev 11:15 : 15 And at the sounding of the seventh angel there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he will have rule for ever and ever.
• 2 Pet 1:19 : 19 And so the words of the prophets are made more certain; and it is well for you to give attention to them as to a light shining in a dark place, till the dawn comes and the morning star is seen in your hearts;
• Luke 1:32-33 : 32 He will be great, and will be named the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his father: 33 He will have rule over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.
• Job 19:25-27 : 25 But I am certain that he who will take up my cause is living, and that in time to come he will take his place on the dust; 26 And ... without my flesh I will see God; 27 Whom I will see on my side, and not as one strange to me. My heart is broken with desire.
• Heb 1:8 : 8 But of the Son he says, Your seat of power, O God, is for ever and ever; and the rod of your kingdom is a rod of righteousness.
• Luke 1:78 : 78 Because of the loving mercies of our God, by which the dawn from heaven has come to us,
• Zech 12:10 : 10 And I will send down on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of prayer; and their eyes will be turned to the one who was wounded by their hands: and they will be weeping for him as for an only son, and their grief for him will be bitter, like the grief of one sorrowing for his oldest son.
• 2 Sam 8:2 : 2 And he overcame the Moabites, and he had them measured with a line when they were stretched out on the earth; marking out two lines for death and one full line for life. So the Moabites became servants to David and gave him offerings.
• 2 Kgs 3:5 : 5 But when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab got free from the authority of the king of Israel.
• 2 Kgs 3:26-27 : 26 And when the king of Moab saw that the fight was going against him, he took with him seven hundred men armed with swords, with the idea of forcing a way through to the king of Aram, but they were not able to do so. 27 Then he took his oldest son, who would have been king after him, offering him as a burned offering on the wall. So there was great wrath against Israel; and they went away from him, back to their country.
• 1 Chr 18:2 : 2 And he overcame Moab, and the Moabites became his servants and gave him offerings.
• Num 21:29 : 29 Sorrow is yours, O Moab! Destruction is your fate, O people of Chemosh: his sons have gone in flight, and his daughters are prisoners, in the hands of Sihon, king of the Amorites.
• 1 Sam 14:38 : 38 And Saul said, Come near, all you chiefs of the people, and let us get word from God and see in whom is this sin today.
• Gen 4:25-26 : 25 And Adam had connection with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name of Seth: for she said, God has given me another seed in place of Abel, whom Cain put to death. 26 And Seth had a son, and he gave him the name of Enosh: at this time men first made use of the name of the Lord in worship.
• Gen 5:3-9 : 3 Adam had been living for a hundred and thirty years when he had a son like himself, after his image, and gave him the name of Seth: 4 And after the birth of Seth, Adam went on living for eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters: 5 And all the years of Adam's life were nine hundred and thirty: and he came to his end. 6 And Seth was a hundred and five years old when he became the father of Enosh: 7 And he went on living after the birth of Enosh for eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters: 8 And all the years of Seth's life were nine hundred and twelve: and he came to his end. 9 And Enosh was ninety years old when he became the father of Kenan: 10 And after the birth of Kenan, Enosh went on living for eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters: 11 And all the years of Enosh were nine hundred and five: and he came to his end. 12 And Kenan was seventy years old when he became the father of Mahalalel: 13 And after the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan went on living for eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters: 14 And all the years of Kenan's life were nine hundred and ten; and he came to his end. 15 And Mahalalel was sixty-five years old when he became the father of Jared: 16 And after the birth of Jared, Mahalalel went on living for eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters: 17 And all the years of Mahalalel's life were eight hundred and ninety-five: and he came to his end. 18 And Jared was a hundred and sixty-two years old when he became the father of Enoch: 19 And Jared went on living after the birth of Enoch for eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters: 20 And all the years of Jared's life were nine hundred and sixty-two: and he came to his end. 21 And Enoch was sixty-five years old when he became the father of Methuselah: 22 And after the birth of Methuselah, Enoch went on in God's ways for three hundred years, and had sons and daughters: 23 And all the years of Enoch's life were three hundred and sixty-five: 24 And Enoch went on in God's ways: and he was not seen again, for God took him. 25 And Methuselah was a hundred and eighty-seven years old when he became the father of Lamech: 26 And after the birth of Lamech, Methuselah went on living for seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters: 27 And all the years of Methuselah's life were nine hundred and sixty-nine: and he came to his end. 28 And Lamech was a hundred and eighty-two years old when he had a son: 29 And he gave him the name of Noah, saying, Truly, he will give us rest from our trouble and the hard work of our hands, because of the earth which was cursed by God.
• Matt 2:2-9 : 2 Saying, Where is the King of the Jews whose birth has now taken place? We have seen his star in the east and have come to give him worship. 3 And when it came to the ears of Herod the king, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And he got together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, questioning them as to where the birth-place of the Christ would be. 5 And they said to him, In Beth-lehem of Judaea; for so it is said in the writings of the prophet, 6 You Beth-lehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the chiefs of Judah: out of you will come a ruler, who will be the keeper of my people Israel. 7 Then Herod sent for the wise men privately, and put questions to them about what time the star had been seen. 8 And he sent them to Beth-lehem and said, Go and make certain where the young child is; and when you have seen him, let me have news of it, so that I may come and give him worship. 9 And after hearing the king, they went on their way; and the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the young child was.
• Isa 15:1-16:14 : 1 The word about Moab. For in a night Ar of Moab has become waste, and is seen no longer; for in a night Kir of Moab has become waste, and is seen no longer. 2 The daughter of Dibon has gone up to the high places, weeping: Moab is sounding her cry of sorrow over Nebo, and over Medeba: everywhere the hair of the head and of the face is cut off. 3 In their streets they are covering themselves with haircloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their public places, there is crying and bitter weeping. 4 Heshbon is crying out, and Elealeh; their voice is sounding even to Jahaz: for this cause the heart of Moab is shaking; his soul is shaking with fear. 5 My heart is crying out for Moab; her people go in flight to Zoar, and to Eglath-shelishiyah: for they go up with weeping by the slope of Luhith; on the way to Horonaim they send up a cry of destruction. 6 The waters of Nimrim will become dry: for the grass is burned up, the young grass is coming to an end, every green thing is dead. 7 For this cause they will take away their wealth, and the stores they have got together, over the stream of the water-plants. 8 For the cry has gone round the limits of Moab; as far as to Eglaim and Beer-elim. 9 For the waters of Dimon are full of blood: and I'm sending even more on Moab, a lion on those of Moab who go in flight, and on the rest of the land. 1 And they will send ... to the mountain of the daughter of Zion. 2 For the daughters of Moab will be like wandering birds, like a place from which the young birds have gone in flight, at the ways across the Arnon. 3 Give wise directions, make a decision; let your shade be as night in full day: keep safe those who are in flight; do not give up the wandering ones. 4 Let those who have been forced out of Moab have a resting-place with you; be a cover to them from him who is making waste their land: till the cruel ones are cut off, and wasting has come to an end, and those who take pleasure in crushing the poor are gone from the land. 5 Then a king's seat will be based on mercy, and one will be seated on it in the tent of David for ever; judging uprightly, and quick to do righteousness. 6 We have had word of the pride of Moab, how great it is; how he is lifted up in pride and passion: his high words about himself are false. 7 For this cause everyone in Moab will give cries of grief for Moab: crushed to the earth, they will be weeping for the men of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon are waste, the vine of Sibmah is dead; the lords of nations were overcome by the produce of her vines; her vine-plants went as far as Jazer, and came even to the waste land; her branches were stretched out to the sea. 9 For this cause my sorrow for the vine of Sibmah will be like the weeping for Jazer: my eyes are dropping water on you, O Heshbon and Elealeh! For they are sounding the war-cry over your summer fruits and the getting in of your grain; 10 And all joy is gone; no longer are they glad for the fertile field; and in the vine-gardens there are no songs or sounds of joy: the crushing of grapes has come to an end, and its glad cry has been stopped. 11 For this cause the cords of my heart are sounding for Moab, and I am full of sorrow for Kir-heres. 12 And when Moab goes up to the high place, and makes prayer in the house of his god, it will have no effect. 13 This is the word which the Lord said about Moab in the past. 14 But now the Lord has said, In three years, the years of a servant working for payment, the glory of Moab, all that great people, will be turned to shame, and the rest of Moab will be very small and without honour.
• Jer 48:45 : 45 Those who went in flight from the fear are waiting under the shade of Heshbon: for a fire has gone out from Heshbon and a flame from the house of Sihon, burning up the pride of Moab and the crown of the head of the violent ones.
• Ps 72:8-9 : 8 Let his kingdom be from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. 9 Let those who are against him go down before him; and let his haters be low in the dust. 10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands come back with offerings; let the kings of Sheba and Seba give of their stores. 11 Yes, let all kings go down before him; let all nations be his servants.
• Ps 78:70-72 : 70 He took David to be his servant, taking him from the place of the flocks; 71 From looking after the sheep which were giving milk, he took him to give food to Jacob his people, and to Israel his heritage. 72 So he gave them food with an upright heart, guiding them by the wisdom of his hands.
• Ps 110:2 : 2 The Lord will send out the rod of your strength from Zion; be king over your haters.
• Jude 1:11 : 11 A curse on them! They have gone in the way of Cain, running uncontrolled into the error of Balaam for reward, and have come to destruction by saying evil against the Lord, like Korah.
• Jude 1:14-15 : 14 The prophet Enoch, who was the seventh after Adam, said of these men, The Lord came with tens of thousands of his saints, 15 To be the judge of all, and to give a decision against all those whose lives are unpleasing to him, because of the evil acts which they have done, and because of all the hard things which sinners without fear of God have said against him.