Numbers 21:8

Brenton's Septuagint

And Moses prayed to the Lord for the people; and the Lord said to Moses, Make thee a serpent, and put it on a signal-staff; and it shall come to pass that whenever a serpent shall bite a man, every one so bitten that looks upon it shall live.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The LORD said to Moshe, Make you a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard: and it shall happen, that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.

King James Version
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

Lexham English Bible
And Yahweh said to Moses, "Make for yourself a snake and place it on a pole. When anyone is bitten and looks at it, that person will live."

English Standard Version
And the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live."

New Century Version
The Lord said to Moses, "Make a bronze snake, and put it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, that person will live."

New English Translation
The Lord said to Moses, "Make a poisonous snake and set it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live."

Amplified Bible
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten will live when he looks at it."

New American Standard Bible
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Lord said vnto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it vp for a signe, that as many as are bitten, may looke vpon it, and liue.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; and it will be that everyone who is bitten and looks at it, will live."

Contemporary English Version
and the Lord answered, "Make a snake out of bronze and place it on top of a pole. Anyone who gets bitten can look at the snake and won't die."

Complete Jewish Bible
and Adonai answered Moshe: "Make a poisonous snake and put it on a pole. When anyone who has been bitten sees it, he will live."

Darby Translation
And Jehovah said to Moses, Make thee a fiery [serpent], and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, and looketh upon it, shall live.

Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord said to Moses, "Make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. If anyone is bitten by a snake, that person should look at the bronze snake on the pole. Then that person will not die."

George Lamsa Translation
And the LORD said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent of brass, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass that every one who is bitten by a serpent, when he looks upon it, shall live.

Good News Translation
Then the Lord told Moses to make a metal snake and put it on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten could look at it and be healed.

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.”

Literal Translation
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Make yourself a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that when anyone is bitten, when he sees it, he shall live.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde the LORDE vnto Moses: Make the a brasen serpente, and set it vp for a token. Who so euer is bytten, and loketh vpon it, shal lyue.

American Standard Version
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live.

Bible in Basic English
And the Lord said to Moses, Make an image of a snake and put it on a rod, and anyone who has been wounded by the snakes, looking on it will be made well.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the Lorde sayde vnto Moyses: Make thee a fierie serpent, and set it vp vpon a pole: that as many as are bitten may loke vpon it, and lyue.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live.'

King James Version (1611)
And the Lord said vnto Moses, Make thee a fierie serpent, and set it vpon a pole: and it shall come to passe, that euery one that is bitten, when hee looketh vpon it, shall liue.

English Revised Version
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live.

Berean Standard Bible
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Moises preiede for the puple; and the Lord seide to hym, Make thou a serpent of bras, and sette thou it for a signe; he that is smytun and biholdith it, schal lyue.

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Make for thee a burning [serpent], and set it on an ensign; and it hath been, every one who is bitten and hath seen it -- he hath lived.

Update Bible Version
And Yahweh said to Moses, You make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD said to Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

World English Bible
Yahweh said to Moses, Make you a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard: and it shall happen, that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.

New King James Version
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."

New Living Translation
Then the Lord told him, "Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!"

New Life Bible
The Lord said to Moses, "Make a special snake and put it up on a long piece of wood. Everyone who is bitten will live when he looks at it."

New Revised Standard
And the Lord said to Moses, "Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Yahweh unto Moses - Make thee a like serpent, and put it upon standard, - and it shall come to pass, that, any one who is bitten, as soon as he seeth it, shall live.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord said to him: Make a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: whosoever being struck shall look on it, shall live.

Revised Standard Version
And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live."

THE MESSAGE
God said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it on a flagpole: Whoever is bitten and looks at it will live."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live."

Contextual Overview

⁴ And having departed from mount Or by the way leading to the Red Sea, they compassed the land of Edom, and the people lost courage by the way. ⁵ And the people spoke against God and against Moses, saying, Why is this? Hast thou brought us ought of Egypt to slay us in the wilderness? for there is not bread nor water; and our soul loathes this light bread. ⁶ And the Lord sent among the people deadly serpents, and they bit the people, and much people of the children of Israel died. ⁷ And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee: pray therefore to the Lord, and let him take away the serpent from us. ⁸ And Moses prayed to the Lord for the people; and the Lord said to Moses, Make thee a serpent, and put it on a signal-staff; and it shall come to pass that whenever a serpent shall bite a man, every one so bitten that looks upon it shall live. ⁹ And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a signal-staff: and it came to pass that whenever a serpent bit a man, and he looked on the brazen serpent, he lived.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Psalms 106:43-45, Psalms 145:8

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 18:4 - the brazen serpent Psalms 107:20 - healed Isaiah 45:22 - Look Luke 6:19 - sought Luke 24:44 - in the law John 5:46 - for

Cross-References

Genesis 19:3
And he constrained them, and they turned aside to him, and they entered into his house, and he made a feast for them, and baked unleavened cakes for them, and they did eat.

Genesis 26:30
And he made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

Genesis 29:22
And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a marriage-feast.

Genesis 40:20
And it came to pass on the third day that it was Pharao’s birth-day, and he made a banquet for all his servants, and he remembered the office of the cupbearer and the office of the baker in the midst of his servants.

Judges 14:10
And his father went down to the woman, and Sampson made there a banquet for seven days, for so the young men are used to do.

Judges 14:12
And Sampson said to them, I propound you a riddle: if ye will indeed tell it me, and discover it within the seven days of the feast, I will you give thirty sheets and thirty changes of raiment.

1 Samuel 1:22
But Anna did not go up with him, for she said to her husband, I will not go up until the child goes up, when I have weaned him, and he shall be presented before the Lord, and he shall abide there continually.

1 Samuel 25:36
And Abigaia came to Nabal: and, behold, he had a banquet in this house, as the banquet of a king, and the heart of Nabal was merry within him, and he was very drunken: and she told him nothing great or small till the morning light.

2 Samuel 3:20
And Abenner came to David to Chebron, and with him twenty men: and David made for Abenner and his men with him a banquet of wine.

1 Kings 3:15
And Solomon awoke, and, behold, it was a dream: and he arose and came to Jerusalem, and stood before the altar that was in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord in Sion: and he offered whole-burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings, and made a great banquet for himself and all his servants.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Out of the cloud; or, it may be, Moses went into the sanctuary, and there prayed, and the Lord answered him from between the cherubim:

make them a fiery serpent; not a real one, but the likeness of one, one that should very much resemble the fiery serpents Israel had been bitten with:

and set it upon a pole; a standard, banner, or ensign, as the word signifies; perhaps meaning one of the poles on which their ensigns were carried: the Targum of Jonathan renders it, on an high place, that so it might be seen by all in the camp:

and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live; which is very wonderful, that by looking to the figure of a serpent, men should be cured of the bites of real ones, and which bites were deadly; the virtue of healing could not come from the figure, but from God, who appointed it to be made, the Targum of Jonathan adds, that one bitten should live,

"if he directed his heart to the Word of the Lord,''

even to that divine Logos or Word of God, whose lifting up was figured hereby; see John 3:14.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Make thee a fiery serpent - i. e. a serpent resembling in appearance the reptiles which attacked the people. The resemblance was of the essence of the symbolism (compare 1 Samuel 6:5). As the brass serpent represented the instrument of their chastisement, so the looking unto it at God’s word denoted acknowledgment of their sin, longing for deliverance from its penalty, and faith in the means appointed by God for healing. In the serpent of brass, harmless itself, but made in the image of the creature that is accursed above others Genesis 3:14, the Christian fathers rightly see a figure of Him John 3:14-15 who though “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” Hebrews 7:26, was yet “made sin” 2 Corinthians 5:21, and “made a curse for us” Galatians 3:13. And the eye of faith fixed on Him beholds the manifestation at once of the deserts of sin, of its punishment imminent and deprecated, and of the method of its remission devised by God Himself.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 21:8. Make thee a fiery serpent — Literally, make thee a seraph.

And put it upon a pole — על נס al nes, upon a standard or ensign.