English Standard Version
Numbers 32:20
20So Moses said to them, "If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war,
Numbers 32:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war,
- New International Version (NIV)Then Moses said to them, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Moses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war,
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then Moses said, “If you keep your word and arm yourselves for the Lord’s battles,
Context of Numbers 32:20
18We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. 19For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east." So Moses said to them, "If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, 21and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies from before him 22and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.
Read all of Numbers 32Numbers 32:20 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם֙ מֹשֶׁ֔ה אִֽם־תַּעֲשׂ֖וּן אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה אִם־תֵּחָֽלְצ֛וּ לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָ֖ה לַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto them, If ye will doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- this thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
- if ye will go armedחָלַץchâlats · to armH2502
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- to warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
Cross-references for Numbers 32:20
- Deuteronomy 3:18"And I commanded you at that time, saying, 'The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel.
- Joshua 1:13"Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, 'The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.'
- Joshua 4:12The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them.
- Joshua 22:2and said to them, "You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you.
Commentaries on Numbers 32:20
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-27Verses 16-27 Here is the good effect of plain dealing. Moses, by showing their sin, and the danger of it, brought them to their duty, without murmuring or disputing. All men ought to consider the interests of others as well as their own; the law of love requires us to labour, venture, or suffer for each other as there may be occasion. They propose that their men of war should go ready armed before the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, and that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-24Moses agreed to the terms offered by Reuben and Gad. If they helped their relatives fight the Canaanites, they would fulfill their part of the agreement. Then they could return to their settlements east of the Jordan River (32:22). If they did not keep their promise, it would be a serious sin against God (32:23).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-3320-33. Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing--with sincerity and zeal. go before the Lord to war--The phrase was used in allusion to the order of march in which the tribes of Reuben and Gad immediately preceded the ark (see on Nu 2:10-31), or to the passage over the Jordan, in which the ark stood in mid-channel, while all the tribes marched by in succession (Jos 3:4), of course including those of Reuben and Gad, so that, literally, they passed…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 32:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 32
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries