Numbers 21:2 (YLT)

Passage

And Israel voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, `If Thou dost certainly give this people into my hand, then I have devoted their cities;'

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:1 And the Canaanite--king Arad--dwelling in the south, heareth that Israel hath come the way of the Atharim, and he fighteth against Israel, and taketh <FI>some<Fi> of them captive.

Numbers 21:2 And Israel voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, `If Thou dost certainly give this people into my hand, then I have devoted their cities;'

Numbers 21:3 and Jehovah hearkeneth to the voice of Israel, and giveth up the Canaanite, and he devoteth them and their cities, and calleth the name of the place Hormah.

Numbers 21:4 And they journey from mount Hor, the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom, and the soul of the people is short in the way,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "voweth", "jehovah", "saith", "thou", "dost", "certainly", and "give". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "israel" and "voweth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And the Canaanite--king Arad--dwelling in the south..." into verse 3's "and Jehovah hearkeneth to the voice of...", so "israel" and "voweth" 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 "voweth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.