Moses replied, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle,
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses said to them, “If you will do this thing, if you will arm yourselves to go before Yahweh to the war,
- KJV And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,
- NKJV Then Moses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war,
- NASB So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for the war,
- NLT Then Moses said, “If you keep your word and arm yourselves for the Lord’s battles,
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 agrees on the condition that they arm for war before the LORD. The promise is bound to faithful obedience.
Overview
Moses accepts the proposal but frames it as a sacred obligation undertaken before the LORD, not a mere private deal. By tying their land to their service in God's war, he keeps the covenant focus central. The conditional structure teaches that God's gifts and human responsibility belong together, and that promises made before God must be kept.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Josh 4:12–13The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over before the Israelites, armed for battle as Moses had instructed them.
- Deut 3:18–20At that time I commanded you: “The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor are to cross over, armed for battle, ahead of your brothers, the Israelites.
- Josh 1:13–15“Remember what Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you when he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.’
- Josh 22:2–4and told them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and you have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.
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 32:20 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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