Numbers 25:17 kjv
Vex the Midianites, and smite them:
Numbers 25:17 nkjv
"Harass the Midianites, and attack them;
Numbers 25:17 niv
"Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them.
Numbers 25:17 esv
"Harass the Midianites and strike them down,
Numbers 25:17 nlt
"Attack the Midianites and destroy them,
Numbers 25 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Num 25:1-3 | "While Israel abode in Shittim, the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab... worshiped their gods..." | Immediate context of Baal-Peor transgression. |
| Num 25:4 | "And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun..." | God's initial severe command against the sin. |
| Num 25:6-8 | "And when Phinehas... went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through..." | Phinehas' zeal stopping the plague. |
| Num 25:18 | "For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor..." | Direct explanation for the judgment command. |
| Num 31:2 | "Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people." | God's instruction for vengeance before Moses' death. |
| Num 31:16 | "Behold, these caused the children of Israel... through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD..." | Confirms Midianite active role in Baal-Peor, Balaam's counsel. |
| Deut 7:2 | "When the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them..." | Broader command to destroy wicked nations. |
| Ex 23:33 | "They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods..." | Prohibition against alliances leading to idolatry. |
| Ex 34:15-16 | "Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods..." | Warning against spiritual adultery. |
| Josh 13:21 | "All the kings of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon..." | Reference to Midianite kings defeated later. |
| Ps 106:28-31 | "They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor... Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment..." | Retelling of the Baal-Peor event and Phinehas. |
| Prov 6:27-28 | "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?" | Analogy for engaging with dangerous temptations. |
| 1 Cor 10:6-8 | "Now these things were our examples... Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed..." | Warning against similar sins based on Israel's example. |
| 2 Cor 6:14 | "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?" | Exhortation for believers to remain separate from corrupting influences. |
| Eph 5:11 | "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." | Command to avoid and expose sin. |
| Jas 4:4 | "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?" | Spiritual adultery as enmity towards God. |
| Rev 2:14 | "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock..." | Echoes the Balaam/Midianite strategy of seducing God's people into sin. |
| Rev 18:6 | "Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double." | Principle of divine retribution for evil. |
| Deut 23:4-5 | "Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way... hired against thee Balaam... to curse thee." | Reason for Ammonite/Moabite exclusion, connects to Balaam. |
| Isa 47:6 | "I was wroth with my people... thou didst shew them no mercy..." | Illustrates God using nations for judgment, and their responsibility. |
| Rom 1:32 | "Who knowing the judgment of God... not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." | Warning against approval of sin. |
Numbers 25 verses
Numbers 25 17 Meaning
Numbers 25:17 conveys a divine command given to the Israelites to consider the Midianites as hostile adversaries and to execute a severe punitive action against them. This mandate arises directly from the Midianites' involvement in enticing Israel into sexual immorality and idolatry through the Baal-Peor incident, leading to a devastating plague and challenging the purity of God's covenant people. It represents a call for decisive, divinely sanctioned judgment against those who actively seek to corrupt God's people from within.
Numbers 25 17 Context
Numbers 25:17 concludes a pivotal narrative block (Num 25:1-18) detailing the Baal-Peor incident. This event occurred as the Israelites were camped in Shittim on the plains of Moab, poised to enter the Promised Land. Through the insidious counsel of Balaam (as later revealed in Num 31:16 and Rev 2:14), the Midianite (and Moabite) women enticed Israelite men into sexual immorality and the worship of Baal of Peor. This blatant covenant violation ignited God's fierce anger, resulting in a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites. Phinehas' zealous action in impaling an Israelite man and a Midianite woman stopped the plague and demonstrated divine approval for confronting evil directly. Following this intense display of God's wrath and righteous zeal, Numbers 25:17 serves as God's specific directive for punitive justice against the Midianites, who were key orchestrators of Israel's spiritual downfall. This context underscores God's intolerance for syncretism and idolatry among His covenant people, especially when induced by external forces.
Numbers 25 17 Word analysis
- Vex: Hebrew: צָרַר (tsarar). Meaning: to bind, be narrow, distress, besiege, oppress, act as an adversary.
- Significance: This word implies persistent, intentional hostility. It is not just about a single act of combat but ongoing trouble or oppression, signifying that the Midianites had acted as sustained tormentors or adversaries to Israel, especially through their spiritual enticement.
- It describes their actions at Peor – they "bound" or "distressed" Israel into sin. The command to "vex" them is thus a reciprocal action.
- The Midianites: Hebrew: הַמִּדְיָנִים (hammiḏyānim).
- Significance: Descendants of Midian, Abraham's son through Keturah. Historically, they were a nomadic trading people who interacted with Israel. In this context, they were specifically responsible for tempting Israel into idolatry and fornication, going beyond merely being external neighbors or adversaries. Their role in Balaam's scheme (Num 31:16) underscores their active malicious intent to cause Israel to stumble spiritually. This made them a spiritual rather than just a political enemy.
- And smite them: Hebrew: וְהִכִּיתֶם אוֹתָם (wəhiḳḳīṯem ’ôṯām). Smite comes from the root נָכָה (nakah). Meaning: to strike, beat, wound, kill, execute judgment.
- Significance: This command indicates decisive, destructive military action, a direct physical manifestation of God's judgment against their wickedness. It is an act of divine vengeance against those who brought spiritual contagion into the midst of God's people, a command for holy war.
Words-group analysis
- Vex the Midianites, and smite them: This phrase is a concise and forceful double command emphasizing God's severe judgment. "Vex" implies a targeted and persistent harassment, ensuring their societal structure and influence are undermined. "Smite them" commands outright physical destruction, likely implying key elements of their military power, leadership, or segments of their population. Together, these terms demonstrate a total condemnation and a mandate for complete punitive action, reflecting the grave spiritual offense the Midianites facilitated against Israel. This combined command indicates a complete cessation of their hostile and corrupting influence.
Numbers 25 17 Bonus section
The command in Numbers 25:17, while seemingly focused on a military action, carries profound spiritual implications. The Midianites were used by Balaam (as confirmed in Num 31:16 and later highlighted in Rev 2:14) to corrupt Israel not through direct military engagement, but through deceptive allurements leading to sexual sin and idolatry. This highlights the insidious nature of spiritual warfare, often waged not with swords and spears but through temptation and subtle compromise. The divine injunction to "vex and smite" them, therefore, serves as a powerful illustration of God's intolerance for anything that threatens the purity and covenant loyalty of His people. It foreshadows the New Testament concept of spiritual warfare (Eph 6:12), where believers are called to stand against spiritual wickedness, even metaphorically "smashing" strongholds of sin and false teachings in their lives (2 Cor 10:4-5). This episode teaches the urgent necessity of maintaining spiritual discernment and actively opposing any influence that leads to idolatry or immorality, for these are directly antithetical to walking in holiness with God.
Numbers 25 17 Commentary
Numbers 25:17 is a declarative statement of God's righteous judgment. It signifies the divine response to a grave spiritual transgression directly instigated by the Midianites against Israel. This was not a pre-emptive strike against an external foe, but a punitive action against those who had acted as spiritual saboteurs, successfully corrupting God's chosen people into idolatry and immorality. The command "Vex them, and smite them" reveals God's unyielding demand for holiness among His covenant community and His absolute opposition to anything that compromises His relationship with His people. It illustrates that spiritual seduction and moral decay, especially when externally provoked, will incur divine wrath. This is a foundational principle showing that compromise with wickedness leads to dire consequences, and God's people are commanded to separate themselves and even actively oppose such influences. This judgment on the Midianites prefigures future judgments against spiritual adversaries who seek to draw believers away from Christ through false doctrine or worldly enticements.