Numbers 21:17 (YLT)

Passage

Then singeth Israel this song, concerning the well--they have answered to it:

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:15 And the spring of the brooks, Which turned aside to the dwelling of Ar, And hath leaned to the border of Moab.'

Numbers 21:16 And from thence <FI>they journeyed<Fi> to Beer; it <FI>is<Fi> the well <FI>concerning<Fi> which Jehovah said to Moses, `Gather the people, and I give to them--water.'

Numbers 21:17 Then singeth Israel this song, concerning the well--they have answered to it:

Numbers 21:18 `A well--digged it have princes, Prepared it have nobles of the people, With the lawgiver, with their staves.' And from the wilderness <FI>they journeyed<Fi> to Mattanah,

Numbers 21:19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "singeth", "israel", "song", "concerning", "well--they", and "answered". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "singeth" and "israel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And from thence FI they journeyed Fi..." into verse 18's "A well--digged it have princes Prepared it...", so "singeth" and "israel" 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 "singeth" and "israel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.