Numbers 21:28 (GNV)

Passage

For a fire is gone out of Heshbon, and a flame from the citie of Sihon, and hath consumed Ar of the Moabites, and the lords of Bamoth in Arnon.

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:26 For Heshbon was the citie of Sihon the king of the Amorites, which had fought beforetime against the king of the Moabites, and had taken al his land out of his hand, euen vnto Arnon.

Numbers 21:27 Wherefore they that speake in prouerbes, say, Come to Heshbon, let the citie of Sihon bee built and repaired:

Numbers 21:28 For a fire is gone out of Heshbon, and a flame from the citie of Sihon, and hath consumed Ar of the Moabites, and the lords of Bamoth in Arnon.

Numbers 21:29 Wo be to thee, Moab: O people of Chemosh, thou art vndone: he hath suffered his sonnes to be pursued, and his daughters to be in captiuitie to Sihon the king of the Amorites.

Numbers 21:30 Their empire also is lost from Heshbon vnto Dibon, and wee haue destroyed them vnto Nophah, which reacheth vnto Medeba.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fire", "gone", "heshbon", "flame", "citie", "sihon", "hath", and "consumed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fire" and "gone", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 27's "Wherefore they that speake in prouerbes say..." into verse 29's "Wo be to thee Moab O people...", so "fire" and "gone" 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 "fire" and "gone" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.