But Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, “Should your brothers go to war while you remain here?
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?
- BSB But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Shall your brothers go to war while you 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?
- 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 13:5doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;
- Phil 2:4each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
- 2 Sam 11:11Uriah said to David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah, are staying in tents; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open field. Shall I then go into my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing!”
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 32:6 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.