All the fighting men had taken some of the plunder for themselves.
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.)
- BSB Each of the soldiers had taken plunder 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.
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, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, even all its plunder, you shall take for plunder for yourself. You may use the plunder of your enemies, which Yahweh your God has given you.
- Num 31:32Now the plunder, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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 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
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.