But if you do not do this, you will certainly sin against the LORD—and be assured that your sin will find you out.
Parallel translations
- WEB “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against Yahweh; and be sure your sin will find you out.
- KJV But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
- NKJV But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.
- NASB But if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure that your sin will find you out.
- NLT But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
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
But if they fail to keep their word, Moses warns, they sin against the LORD and their sin will find them out. Broken vows before God carry inescapable consequences.
Overview
Moses delivers the sober counterpart: failure to fulfill the pledge would be sin against the LORD Himself, and that sin would surely be exposed. The proverb-like warning that sin will find you out affirms God's omniscience and justice; nothing hidden escapes Him. It points to the universal accountability of all people before God, from which only the atonement of Christ provides refuge.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 59:12For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. Our transgressions are indeed with us, and we know our iniquities:
- Prov 13:21Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.
- Gen 44:16“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed the iniquity of your servants. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one who was found with the cup.”
- Ps 90:8You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
- 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
- Rom 2:9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;
- Gen 4:7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”
- Deut 28:15–68If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
- Isa 3:11Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.
- Isa 59:1–2Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.
- Ps 140:11May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence.
- Ps 139:11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”—
- Lev 26:14–46If, however, you fail to obey Me and to carry out all these commandments,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 32:23 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.