Moses was very angry, and said to Yahweh, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
- BSB Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”
- NKJV Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.”
- NASB Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Pay no attention to their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.”
- NLT Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their grain offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them.”
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
Moses, very angry, asked God not to accept their offering, protesting his own integrity. He had never wronged or exploited the people.
Overview
Moses appeals to the LORD, righteously indignant, and defends his blameless conduct, having taken nothing from anyone. His clear conscience stands in contrast to the rebels' false accusations. Moses' integrity foreshadows Christ, the sinless servant who likewise did no wrong yet was falsely accused (1 Peter 2:22).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Gen 4:4–5Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering,
- 2 Cor 7:2Open your hearts to us. We wronged no one. We corrupted no one. We took advantage of no one.
- Num 12:3Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all the men who were on the surface of the earth.
- Isa 1:10–15Hear Yahweh’s word, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
- Acts 20:33–34I coveted no one’s silver, or gold, or clothing.
- 1 Sam 12:3–4Here I am. Witness against me before Yahweh, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a ransom to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
- Exod 32:19As soon as he came near to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger grew hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mountain.
- Num 16:6–7Do this: take censers, Korah, and all his company;
- 2 Cor 1:12For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God we behaved ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you.
- 1 Cor 9:15But I have used none of these things, and I don’t write these things that it may be done so in my case; for I would rather die, than that anyone should make my boasting void.
- 2 Cor 12:14–17Behold, this is the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I seek not your possessions, but you. For the children ought not to save up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
- Mark 3:5When he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other.
- Matt 5:22But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
- 1 Th 2:10You are witnesses with God, how holy, righteously, and blamelessly we behaved ourselves toward you who believe.
- Eph 4:26“Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,
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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 16:15 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
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