Numbers 21:2 (ASV)

Passage

And Israel vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:1 And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.

Numbers 21:2 And Israel vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.

Numbers 21:3 And Jehovah hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and the name of the place was called Hormah.

Numbers 21:4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "vowed", "jehovah", "said", "thou", "wilt", "indeed", and "deliver". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "israel" and "vowed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And the Canaanite the king of Arad..." into verse 3's "And Jehovah hearkened to the voice of...", so "israel" and "vowed" belong inside that flow. In Numbers context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "israel" and "vowed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.