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We will not return to our homes until every one of the sons of Israel has gained possession of his inheritance.
Numbers 32:18 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB We will not return to our houses, until the children of Israel have each inherited their inheritance.
  • KJV We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.
  • BSB We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has taken possession of his inheritance.
  • NKJV We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance.
  • NLT We will not return to our homes until all the people of Israel have received their portions of land.

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

They vow not to return home until every Israelite has received his inheritance. Their own settlement waits until the whole nation is provided for.

Overview

The two tribes bind themselves not to rest in their houses until all Israel possesses the land. This selfless commitment answers Moses' concern decisively. It embodies the principle that those already blessed labor until their brothers share the blessing, a foretaste of the unity and mutual care that mark the people of God under the gospel.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • Josh 22:1–5Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Numbers videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Numbers 32:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NumbersMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 32:18 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.