New English Translation
Numbers 31:28
28“You must exact a tribute for the Lord from the fighting men who went out to battle: one life out of five hundred, from the people, the cattle, and from the donkeys and the sheep.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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;
Context of Numbers 31:28
26“You and Eleazar the priest, and all the family leaders of the community, take the sum of the plunder that was captured, both people and animals. 27Divide the plunder into two parts, one for those who took part in the war – who went out to battle – and the other for all the community. “You must exact a tribute for the Lord from the fighting men who went out to battle: one life out of five hundred, from the people, the cattle, and from the donkeys and the sheep. 29You are to take it from their half-share and give it to Eleazar the priest for a raised offering to the Lord. 30From the Israelites’ half-share you are to take one portion out of fifty of the people, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep – from every kind of animal – and you are to give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.”
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 14:20Worthy of praise is the Most High God, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
- Joshua 6:19All the silver and gold, as well as bronze and iron items, belong to the Lord. They must go into the Lord’s treasury.”
- 2 Samuel 8:11King David dedicated these things to the Lord, along with the dedicated silver and gold that he had taken from all the nations that he had subdued,
- 1 Chronicles 18:11King David dedicated these things to the Lord, along with the silver and gold which he had carried off from all the nations, including Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.
- 1 Chronicles 26:26Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the storehouses containing the consecrated items dedicated by King David, the family leaders who led units of a thousand and a hundred, and the army officers.
- Proverbs 3:9Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first fruits of all your crops;
- Isaiah 18:7At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies, by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned, a people that are feared far and wide, a nation strong and victorious, whose land rivers divide. The tribute will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 23:18Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord’s presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes.
- Isaiah 60:9Indeed, the coastlands look eagerly for me, the large ships are in the lead, bringing your sons from far away, along with their silver and gold, to honor the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has bestowed honor on you.
- Matthew 22:21They replied, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
- Numbers 31:30From the Israelites’ half-share you are to take one portion out of fifty of the people, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep – from every kind of animal – and you are to give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.”
- Numbers 18:26“You are to speak to the Levites, and you must tell them, ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you are to offer up from it as a raised offering to the Lord a tenth 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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