Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself.
Parallel translations
- WEB The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.
- KJV (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)
- NKJV (The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)
- NASB The men of war had taken plunder, every man for himself.
- NLT All the fighting men had taken some of the plunder for themselves.
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
The ordinary soldiers, by contrast, had each kept the plunder they personally took.
Overview
This note distinguishes the officers' collective atonement offering from the individual soldiers' spoils. It clarifies that the gold offering came specifically from the commanders. The detail underscores the voluntary, leadership-driven nature of this act of thanksgiving.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Deut 20:14But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.
- Num 31:32and this plunder remained from the spoils the soldiers had taken: 675,000 sheep,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 31:53 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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