Numbers Chapter 24 verse 24 Holy Bible

ASV Numbers 24:24

But ships `shall come' from the coast of Kittim, And they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber; And he also shall come to destruction.
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BBE Numbers 24:24

But ships will come from the direction of Kittim, troubling Asshur and troubling Eber, and like the others their fate will be destruction.
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DARBY Numbers 24:24

And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and afflict Asshur, and afflict Eber, and he also shall be for destruction.
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KJV Numbers 24:24

And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
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WBT Numbers 24:24

And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Ashur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
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WEB Numbers 24:24

But ships [shall come] from the coast of Kittim, They shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber; He also shall come to destruction.
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YLT Numbers 24:24

And -- ships `are' from the side of Chittim, And they have humbled Asshur, And they have humbled Eber, And it also for ever is perishing.'
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 24. - Chittim. Cyprus (see on Genesis 10:4). The "isles of Chittim are mentioned by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 2:10) and by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 27:6) in the sense apparently of the western islands generally while in Daniel 11:30 "the ships of Chittim, may have an even wider reference. Indeed the Targum of Palestine makes mention of Italy here, and the Vulgate actually translates "venient in trieribus de Italia." There is, however, no reason to suppose that Balaam knew or spoke of anything further than Cyprus. It was "from the side of" (מִיַּד) Cyprus that the ships of his vision came down upon the Phoenician coasts, wherever their original starting-point may have been. Shall afflict, or, "shall bring low." The same word is used of the oppression of Israel in Egypt (Genesis 15:13). Eber. The Septuagint has here 'Αβραίους, and is followed by the Peschito and the Vulgate. It is not likely, however, that Balaam would have substituted "Eber" for the "Jacob" and "Israel" which he had previously used. The Targum of Onkelos paraphrases "Eber" by "beyond the Euphrates," and that of Palestine has "all the sons of Eber." From Gem 10:21 it would appear that "the children of Eber" were the same as the Shemites; Asshur, therefore, was himself included in Eber, but is separately mentioned on account of his fame and power. And he also shall perish forever. The subject of this prophecy is left in obscurity. It is difficult on grammatical grounds to refer it to Asshur, and it does not seem appropriate to "Eber." It may mean that the unnamed conquering race which should overthrow the Asian monarchies should itself come to an end for evermore; or it may be that Balaam added these words while he beheld with dismay the coming destruction of his own Shemitic race, and their final subjugation by more warlike powers. It must be remembered that the Greek empire, although overthrown, did not by any means "perish for ever" in the same sense as the previous empires of the East.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(24) And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim.--The Chittim (or, Kittim) are said to have migrated from Ph?nicia to Cyprus, and there founded the city of Citium, the modern Chitti. (See Josephus, "Antiq." i.6, 1.) The name probably applies to the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean generally. The rendering of the Vulgate is Venient in trieribus de Italia; and in Daniel 11:30, which is obviously founded upon this verse, the Vulgate identifies the Kittim with the Romans.And shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber.--Some understand by Eber the Hebrews only. The word, however, appears to be used in a wider signification, as comprising "all the children of Eber" (Genesis 10:21). Perhaps the word Asshur may here be used to denote the Eastern Shemites, and Eber the Western Shemites.And he also shall perish for ever--i.e., the victorious power which was to afflict Asshur and Eber. "The overthrow of this last power of the world," says Keil, in loc., "concerning which the prophet Daniel was the first to receive and proclaim new revelations, belongs 'to the end of the days,' in which the star out of Jacob is to rise upon Israel as 'a bright morning-star'" (Revelation 22:16). There is no evidence as to the manner in which Balaam's prophecies came into the hands of the Israelites. It is possible that he may have communicated them to Moses, in the expectation of receiving from him the reward which he had failed to obtain from Balak, or, if captured, in the hope of thereby saving his life.