Numbers 21:27 (KJV)

Passage

Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof.

Numbers 21:26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.

Numbers 21:27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:

Numbers 21:28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.

Numbers 21:29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wherefore", "speak", "proverbs", "come", "heshbon", "city", "sihon", and "built". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wherefore" and "speak", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "For Heshbon was the city of Sihon..." into verse 28's "For there is a fire gone out...", so "wherefore" and "speak" 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 "wherefore" and "speak" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.