Then the Lord sent poisonous[a] snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.(A)

The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that he will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.

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.”(B) So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.

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Footnotes

  1. 21:6 Lit Burning

Then the Lord sent venomous snakes(A) among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.(B) The people came to Moses(C) and said, “We sinned(D) when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord(E) will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed(F) for the people.

The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole;(G) anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake(H) and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.(I)

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24 They will be weak from hunger,
ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague;
I will unleash on them wild beasts with fangs,
as well as venomous snakes that slither in the dust.

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24 I will send wasting famine(A) against them,
    consuming pestilence(B) and deadly plague;(C)
I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts,(D)
    the venom of vipers(E) that glide in the dust.(F)

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