But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure 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.
- BSB But if you do not do this, you will certainly sin against the LORD—and be assured that 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 thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;
- Prov 13:21Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.
- Gen 44:16And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.
- Ps 90:8Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
- 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
- Rom 2:9Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
- Gen 4:7If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
- Deut 28:15–68But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
- Isa 3:11Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
- Isa 59:1–2Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
- Ps 140:11Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
- Ps 139:11If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
- Lev 26:14–46But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 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.