And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to him, “I will not go; but I will depart to my own land, and to my relatives.”
- BSB “I will not go,” Hobab replied. “Instead, I am going back to my own land and my own people.”
- NKJV And he said to him, “I will not go, but I will depart to my own land and to my relatives.”
- NASB But he said to him, “I will not come, but rather will go to my own land and relatives.”
- NLT But Hobab replied, “No, I will not go. I must return to my own land and family.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hobab declines, wishing to return to his own land and kindred. He is reluctant to leave home behind.
Overview
Hobab initially refuses Moses' invitation, preferring his own country and relatives. His hesitation reflects the natural pull of home and the cost of joining God's pilgrim people, a tension every disciple faces when called to follow the Lord into the unknown.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ruth 1:15–17And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
- Luke 14:26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
- 2 Cor 5:16Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
- Heb 11:13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
- Heb 11:8By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
- Gen 12:1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
- Gen 31:30And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
- Ps 45:10Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house;
- Matt 21:29He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 10:30 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.