New Living Translation
Numbers 32:20
20Then Moses said, “If you keep your word and arm yourselves for the Lord’s battles,
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
- English Standard Version (ESV)So Moses said to them, "If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war,
- 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,
Context of Numbers 32:20
18We will not return to our homes until all the people of Israel have received their portions of land. 19But we do not claim any of the land on the other side of the Jordan. We would rather live here on the east side and accept this as our grant of land.” Then Moses said, “If you keep your word and arm yourselves for the Lord’s battles, 21and if your troops cross the Jordan and keep fighting until the Lord has driven out his enemies, 22then you may return when the Lord has conquered the land. You will have fulfilled your duty to the Lord and to the rest of the people of Israel. And the land on the east side of the Jordan will be your property from 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“At that time I gave this command to the tribes that would live east of the Jordan: ‘Although the Lord your God has given you this land as your property, all your fighting men must cross the Jordan ahead of your Israelite relatives, armed and ready to assist them.
- Joshua 1:13“Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you: ‘The Lord your God is giving you a place of rest. He has given you this land.’
- Joshua 4:12The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed.
- Joshua 22:2He told them, “You have done as Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, and you have obeyed every order I have given 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
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