English Standard Version
Numbers 31:28
28And levy for the Lord a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks.
Numbers 31:28 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:
- New International Version (NIV)From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And levy a tribute for the Lord on the men of war who went out to battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep;
- New Living Translation (NLT)From the army’s portion, first give the Lord his share of the plunder—one of every 500 of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.
Context of Numbers 31:28
26"Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation, 27and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. And levy for the Lord a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks. 29Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord. 30And from the people of Israel's half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the Lord."
Read all of Numbers 31Numbers 31:28 word by word
וַהֲרֵמֹתָ֨ מֶ֜כֶס לַֽיהוָ֗ה מֵאֵ֞ת אַנְשֵׁ֤י הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ הַיֹּצְאִ֣ים לַצָּבָ֔א אֶחָ֣ד נֶ֔פֶשׁ מֵחֲמֵ֖שׁ הַמֵּא֑וֹת מִן־הָאָדָם֙ וּמִן־הַבָּקָ֔ר וּמִן־הַחֲמֹרִ֖ים וּמִן־הַצֹּֽאן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And levyרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311
- a tributeמֶ֫כֶסmekes · tributeH4371
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- of the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- of warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
- which went outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- to battleצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · army: warH6635
- oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
- of fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
- hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- of the personsאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- and of the beevesבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
- and of the assesחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
- and of the sheepצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
Cross-references for Numbers 31:28
- Genesis 14:20and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!" And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
- Joshua 6:19But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord."
- 2 Samuel 8:11These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued,
- 1 Chronicles 18:11These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he had carried off from all the nations, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.
- 1 Chronicles 26:26This Shelomoth and his brothers were in charge of all the treasuries of the dedicated gifts that David the king and the heads of the fathers' houses and the officers of the thousands and the hundreds and the commanders of the army had dedicated.
- Proverbs 3:9Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
- Isaiah 18:7At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the Lord of hosts.
- Isaiah 23:18Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.
- Isaiah 60:9For the coastlands shall hope for me, the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your children from afar, their silver and gold with them, for the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful.
- Matthew 22:21They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
- Numbers 31:30And from the people of Israel's half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the Lord."
- Numbers 18:26"Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, 'When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.
Commentaries on Numbers 31:28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28And levy a tribute unto the Lord - one soul of five hundred, etc. - The person to be employed in the Lord's service, under the Levites - the cattle either for sacrifice, or for the use of the Levites, Numbers 31:30. Some monsters have supposed that one out of every five hundred of the captives was offered in sacrifice to the Lord! but this is abominable. When God chose to have the life of a man, he took it in the way of justice, as in the case of…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-47Verses 25-47 Whatever we have, God justly claims a part. Out of the people's share God required one in fifty, but out of the soldiers' share only one in five hundred. The less opportunity we have of honouring God with personal services, the more should we give in money or value.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25-31They divided the plunder into two equal parts. Half went to those who fought against the Midianites and half to the Israelites who stayed behind (compare 1 Samuel 30:21–25). In this way, everyone participated in the conflict. Yet, the smaller group of soldiers each received a larger portion than the much larger group who stayed behind.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 25-3925-39. Take the sum of the prey that was taken--that is, of the captives and cattle, which, having been first lumped together according to ancient usage (Ex 15:9; Jud 5:30), were divided into two equal parts: the one to the people at large, who had sustained a common injury from the Midianites and who were all liable to serve: and the other portion to the combatants, who, having encountered the labors and perils of war, justly received the largest share…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 31:28
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries