Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: “As the Lord has said to your servants, so we will do.
Parallel translations
- WEB The children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, “As Yahweh has said to your servants, so will we do.
- KJV And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.
- BSB The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “As the LORD has spoken to your servants, so we will do.
- NASB And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, “As the Lord has said to your servants, so we will do.
- NLT The tribes of Gad and Reuben said again, “We are your servants, and we will do as the Lord has commanded!
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
Gad and Reuben swear to do exactly as the LORD has spoken through Moses. They bind themselves to obedience under God's authority.
Overview
The two tribes answer by affirming they will act as the LORD has said to His servants. By framing their pledge in terms of God's word rather than mere agreement with Moses, they acknowledge the divine authority behind the arrangement. Their submission shows faith expressing itself in obedience, the proper response of God's people to His revealed will.
Cross-references & the web
No cross-references recorded for this verse.
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 32:31 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.