New Living Translation
Numbers 31:28
28From 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.
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 the family leaders of each tribe are to make a list of all the plunder taken in the battle, including the people and animals. 27Then divide the plunder into two parts, and give half to the men who fought the battle and half to the rest of the people. 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. 29Give this share of the army’s half to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the Lord. 30From the half that belongs to the people of Israel, take one of every fifty of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and other animals. Give this share to the Levites, who are in charge of maintaining 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 14:20And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.
- Joshua 6:19Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.”
- 2 Samuel 8:11King David dedicated all these gifts to the Lord, as he did with the silver and gold from the other nations he had defeated—
- 1 Chronicles 18:11King David dedicated all these gifts to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had taken from the other nations—from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.
- 1 Chronicles 26:26Shelomoth and his relatives were in charge of the treasuries containing the gifts that King David, the family leaders, and the generals and captains and other officers of the army had dedicated to the Lord.
- Proverbs 3:9Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.
- Isaiah 18:7At that time the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will receive gifts from this land divided by rivers, from this tall, smooth-skinned people, who are feared far and wide for their conquests and destruction. They will bring the gifts to Jerusalem, where the Lord of Heaven’s Armies dwells.
- Isaiah 23:18But in the end her profits will be given to the Lord. Her wealth will not be hoarded but will provide good food and fine clothing for the Lord’s priests.
- Isaiah 60:9They are ships from the ends of the earth, from lands that trust in me, led by the great ships of Tarshish. They are bringing the people of Israel home from far away, carrying their silver and gold. They will honor the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has filled you with splendor.
- Matthew 22:21“Caesar’s,” they replied. “Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
- Numbers 31:30From the half that belongs to the people of Israel, take one of every fifty of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and other animals. Give this share to the Levites, who are in charge of maintaining the Lord’s Tabernacle.”
- Numbers 18:26“Give these instructions to the Levites: When you receive from the people of Israel the tithes I have assigned as your allotment, give a tenth of the tithes you receive—a tithe of the tithe—to the Lord as a sacred offering.
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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