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But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?
Numbers 32:6 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Moses said to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war, and shall you sit here?
  • KJV And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?
  • NKJV And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?
  • NASB But Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, “Should your brothers go to war while you remain here?
  • NLT “Do you intend to stay here while your brothers go across and do all the fighting?” Moses asked the men of Gad and Reuben.

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 rebuked them, asking whether they would sit at ease while their brothers went to war.

Overview

Moses confronted the apparent selfishness of settling while the rest of Israel still faced the battle for Canaan. His challenge appealed to covenant solidarity, that God's people share one another's burdens. The rebuke models the call to brotherly responsibility, fulfilled in Christ who bore our burdens and binds His people together as one.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • 1 Cor 13:5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.
  • Phil 2:4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
  • 2 Sam 11:11Uriah answered, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camped in the open field. How can I go to my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing!”

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 32:6YouTube · 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 32:6 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.