Numbers 31:40
New International Version
16,000 people, of whom the tribute for the LORD was 32.

New Living Translation
and 16,000 virgin girls, of whom 32 were the LORD’s share.

English Standard Version
The persons were 16,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 32 persons.

Berean Standard Bible
and 16,000 people, including a tribute to the LORD of 32.

King James Bible
And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute was thirty and two persons.

New King James Version
The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

New American Standard Bible
and the captive people were sixteen thousand, from whom the LORD’S tribute tax was thirty-two persons.

NASB 1995
and the human beings were 16,000, from whom the LORD’S levy was 32 persons.

NASB 1977
And the human beings were 16,000, from whom the LORD’S levy was 32 persons.

Legacy Standard Bible
and the human beings were 16,000, from whom the levy of Yahweh was 32 persons.

Amplified Bible
the persons were 16,000, from whom the LORD’S levy was 32 persons.

Christian Standard Bible
and from the 16,000 people, the tribute to the LORD was 32 people.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
and from the 16,000 people, the tribute to the LORD was 32 people.

American Standard Version
And the persons were sixteen thousand; of whom Jehovah's tribute was thirty and two persons.

English Revised Version
And the persons were sixteen thousand; of whom the LORD'S tribute was thirty and two persons.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Of the 16,000 people they received, 32 went to the LORD as taxes.

International Standard Version
The people numbered 16,000, so the LORD's tribute totaled 32 people.

Majority Standard Bible
and 16,000 people, including a tribute to the LORD of 32.

NET Bible
The people were 16,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 32 people.

New Heart English Bible
The persons were sixteen thousand; of whom the LORD's tribute was thirty-two persons.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD'S tribute was thirty and two persons.

World English Bible
The persons were sixteen thousand, of whom Yahweh’s tribute was thirty-two persons.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and of mankind [are] sixteen thousand, and their tribute to YHWH [is] thirty-two persons.

Young's Literal Translation
and the human beings are sixteen thousand, and their tribute to Jehovah is two and thirty persons.

Smith's Literal Translation
And the souls of man, sixteen thousand; and their tribute to Jehovah, two and thirty souls.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Out of the sixteen thousand persons, there fell to the portion of the Lord, thirty-two souls.

Catholic Public Domain Version
From the sixteen thousand human souls, there fell to the portion of the Lord thirty-two souls.

New American Bible
and sixteen thousand persons, of whom thirty-two persons fell as tax to the LORD.

New Revised Standard Version
The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute was three hundred and twenty persons.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the souls of men, sixteen thousand, and their tax to LORD JEHOVAH: three hundred and twenty souls.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And the persons were sixteen thousand, of whom the LORD'S tribute was thirty and two persons.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and the persons, sixteen thousand, and the tribute of them to the Lord, thirty-two souls.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Division of the Spoils
3930,500 donkeys, including a tribute to the LORD of 61, 40and 16,000 people, including a tribute to the LORD of 32. 41Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as an offering for the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.…

Cross References
Exodus 21:32
If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.

Leviticus 27:2-8
“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons, / if the valuation concerns a male from twenty to sixty years of age, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. / Or if it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels. ...

Leviticus 27:28-29
Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD. / No person set apart for destruction may be ransomed; he must surely be put to death.

Deuteronomy 20:14
But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.

Deuteronomy 21:10-14
When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand and you take them captive, / if you see a beautiful woman among them, and you desire her and want to take her as your wife, / then you shall bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails, ...

Joshua 6:19
For all the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into His treasury.”

Joshua 6:24
Then the Israelites burned up the city and everything in it. However, they put the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house.

1 Samuel 15:3
Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

1 Samuel 15:9
Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to devote them to destruction, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.

2 Chronicles 14:13-15
Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great amount of plunder / and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there. / They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and carried off many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 15:11
At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from all the plunder they had brought back.

2 Chronicles 31:6
And the Israelites and Judahites who lived in the cities of Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things consecrated to the LORD their God, and they laid them in large heaps.

Nehemiah 10:36
And we will bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as it is written in the Law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God.

Isaiah 23:18
Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the LORD; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food and fine clothing.

Ezekiel 44:30
The best of all the firstfruits and of every contribution from all your offerings will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest, so that a blessing may rest upon your homes.


Treasury of Scripture

And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD's tribute was thirty and two persons.

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Beings Human Jehovah's LORD's Part Sixteen Thirty Thirty-Two Thousand Tribute
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Beings Human Jehovah's LORD's Part Sixteen Thirty Thirty-Two Thousand Tribute
Numbers 31
1. The Midianites are spoiled, and Balaam slain
13. Moses is angry with the officers, for saving the women alive
19. How the soldiers, with their captives and spoil, are to be purified
25. The proportion in which the prey is to be divided
48. The voluntary offering unto the treasure of the Lord














16,000 people
This phrase refers to the total number of captives taken from the Midianites after the Israelites' victory. The number 16,000 is significant in the context of ancient warfare, where captives were often taken as part of the spoils. In Hebrew, the word for "people" here is "nephesh," which can also mean "souls" or "living beings," emphasizing the humanity and individuality of each person. This large number reflects the scale of the conflict and the comprehensive nature of the victory granted by God to the Israelites. Historically, the taking of captives was a common practice in ancient Near Eastern warfare, serving both as a means of population control and as a source of labor.

32 taken as tribute for the LORD
The phrase "32 taken as tribute" indicates a specific portion of the captives set aside for the LORD. The Hebrew word for "tribute" is "mekes," which implies a levy or tax, something set apart for a higher purpose. This act of setting aside a portion for the LORD underscores the principle of dedicating the first fruits or a portion of one's gains to God, a recurring theme throughout the Bible. The number 32, while seemingly small compared to the total, represents a significant act of obedience and acknowledgment of God's sovereignty. In the broader scriptural context, this tribute can be seen as an act of worship and recognition of God's role in granting victory. It also serves as a reminder of the Israelites' covenant relationship with God, where they are called to honor Him with their possessions and victories.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
and 16,000
שִׁשָּׁ֥ה (šiš·šāh)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 8337: Six (a cardinal number)

people
וְנֶ֣פֶשׁ (wə·ne·p̄eš)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

with a tribute
וּמִכְסָם֙ (ū·miḵ·sām)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4371: Computation, proportion to be paid, tax

to the LORD
לַֽיהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

of 32.
שְׁנַ֥יִם (šə·na·yim)
Number - md
Strong's 8147: Two (a cardinal number)


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OT Law: Numbers 31:40 The persons were sixteen thousand (Nu Num.)
Numbers 31:39
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