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JPS Old Testament

Numbers 31:28

and levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks;

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Priest;   Servant;   Spoils;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Desert, Journey of Israel through the;   Heave-Offering;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Midianites;   Spoil;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Beeves;   Booty;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Priest;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Levy;   Nethinim;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Beeves,;   Eleazar ;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Booty;   Priest;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Booty;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Priesthood, the;   On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Person;   Slave;   Tax;   Tribute;   War;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Priestly Code;   Sidra;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Levy a tribute to the LORD of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, [both] of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the donkeys, and of the flocks:
King James Version
And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:
Lexham English Bible
Exact a tribute for Yahweh from the men of the war, those who went out to the battle, one from five hundred persons, and from the cattle and from the male donkeys and from the flock;
English Standard Version
And levy for the Lord a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks.
New Century Version
From the soldiers who went to war, take a tax for the Lord of one item out of every five hundred. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, or sheep.
New English Translation
"You must exact a tribute for the Lord from the fighting men who went out to battle: one life out of five hundred, from the people, the cattle, and from the donkeys and the sheep.
Amplified Bible
"Levy a tax for the LORD from the warriors who went to battle, one in five hundred of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, and the flocks.
New American Standard Bible
"Also, collect a tribute tax for the LORD from the men of war who went to battle, one in five hundred of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the sheep;
Geneva Bible (1587)
And thou shalt take a tribute vnto ye Lord of the men of warre, which went out to battel: one person of fiue hundreth, both of the persons, and of the beeues, & of the asses, & of the sheepe.
Legacy Standard Bible
And you shall exact a levy for Yahweh from the men of war who went out to battle, one in five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep;
Contemporary English Version
From the half that belongs to the soldiers, set aside for the Lord one out of every five hundred people or animals and give these to Eleazar.
Complete Jewish Bible
From the portion of the soldiers who went out to battle, levy a tax for Adonai consisting of one-five-hundredth of the persons, cattle, donkeys and sheep;
Darby Translation
And thou shalt levy a tribute for Jehovah of the men of war who went out to the army, one soul of five hundred of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the asses, and of the small cattle.
Easy-to-Read Version
Take part of these things from the soldiers who went to war. That part will belong to the Lord . His share is one from every 500 items. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, and sheep.
George Lamsa Translation
And levy a tribute for the LORD from the men of war who went out to battle; out of all the congregation, one person of every five hundred, both of the persons and of the oxen and of the asses and of the sheep;
Good News Translation
From the part that belongs to the soldiers, withhold as a tax for the Lord one out of every five hundred prisoners and the same proportion of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.
Christian Standard Bible®
Set aside a tribute for the Lord from what belongs to the fighting men who went out to war: one out of every five hundred people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.
Literal Translation
And you shall levy a tribute to Jehovah from the men of war who went out to the battle: one body out of five hundred, of men, and of the herd, and of the asses, and of the flock,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And of the men of warre that wente out to ye battayll, thou shalt heue vnto the LORDE one soule of fyue hundreth, both of the wemen, oxen, Asses and shepe:
American Standard Version
And levy a tribute unto Jehovah of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the asses, and of the flocks:
Bible in Basic English
And from the men of war who went out let there be offered to the Lord one out of every five hundred, from the persons, and from the oxen and asses and sheep:
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And take a tribute vnto the Lorde of the men of warre which went out to battayle: one soule of fiue hundred, both of the persons, and of the beefes, and of the asses, and of the sheepe.
King James Version (1611)
And leuie a tribute vnto the Lord of the men of warre which went out to battell: one soule of fiue hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeues, and of the asses, and of the sheepe.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And ye shall take a tribute for the Lord from the warriors that went out to battle; one soul out of five hundred, from the men, and from the cattle, even from the oxen, and from the sheep, and from the asses; and ye shall take from their half.
English Revised Version
and levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks:
Berean Standard Bible
Set aside a tribute for the LORD from what belongs to the soldiers who went into battle: one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, or sheep.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thou schalt departe a part to the Lord, of hem that fouyten, and weren in batel, `o soule of fiue hundrid, as wel of men, as of oxun, and of assis, and of scheep.
Young's Literal Translation
and thou hast raised a tribute to Jehovah from the men of war, who go out to the host, one body out of five hundred, of man, and of the herd, and of the asses, and of the flock;
Update Bible Version
And levy a tribute to Yahweh of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred of man, and of the oxen, and of the donkeys, and of the flocks:
Webster's Bible Translation
And levy a tribute to the LORD of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, [both] of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:
World English Bible
Levy a tribute to Yahweh of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, [both] of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the donkeys, and of the flocks:
New King James Version
And levy a tribute for the LORD on the men of war who went out to battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep;
New Living Translation
From the army's portion, first give the Lord his share of the plunder—one of every 500 of the prisoners and of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats.
New Life Bible
Then take a tax for the Lord from the men of war who went out to battle. Take one out of 500 of the persons and the cattle and the donkeys and the sheep.
New Revised Standard
From the share of the warriors who went out to battle, set aside as tribute for the Lord , one item out of every five hundred, whether persons, oxen, donkeys, sheep, or goats.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then shalt thou levy a tribute unto Yahweh - from the men of war, who went forth in the host, one living thing, out of five hundred, - of the human beings, and of the herd, and of the asses and of the flock:
Douay-Rheims Bible
And thou shalt separate a portion to the Lord from them that fought and were in the battle, one soul of five hundred as well of persons as of oxen and asses and sheep.
Revised Standard Version
And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the persons and of the oxen and of the asses and of the flocks;
THE MESSAGE
"Then tax the booty that goes to the soldiers at the rate of one life out of five hundred, whether humans, cattle, donkeys, or sheep. It's a God -tax taken from their half-share to be turned over to Eleazar the priest on behalf of God . Tax the congregation's half-share at the rate of one life out of fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, or other animals. Give this to the Levites who are in charge of the care of God 's Dwelling."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Levy a tax for the LORD from the men of war who went out to battle, one in five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep;

Contextual Overview

25 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 26 'Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation; 27 and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, that went out to battle, and all the congregation; 28 and levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war that went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks; 29 take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, as a portion set apart for the LORD. 30 And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, even of all the cattle, and give them unto the Levites, that keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.' 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. 32 Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, 33 and threescore and twelve thousand beeves, 34 and threescore and one thousand asses,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

levy: Genesis 14:20, Joshua 6:19, Joshua 6:24, 2 Samuel 8:11, 2 Samuel 8:12, 1 Chronicles 18:11, 1 Chronicles 26:26, 1 Chronicles 26:27, Proverbs 3:9, Proverbs 3:10, Isaiah 18:7, Isaiah 23:18, Isaiah 60:9, Matthew 22:21

one soul: Numbers 31:30, Numbers 31:47, Numbers 18:26

Reciprocal: Numbers 31:32 - the booty Deuteronomy 16:10 - a tribute 2 Chronicles 15:11 - offered

Cross-References

Genesis 29:13
And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.
Genesis 31:3
And the LORD said unto Jacob: 'Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.'
Genesis 31:13
I am the God of Beth-el, where thou didst anoint a pillar, where thou didst vow a vow unto Me. Now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy nativity.'
Genesis 31:24
And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night, and said unto him: 'Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.'
Genesis 31:55
span data-lang="eng" data-trans="jps" data-ref="gen.31.1" class="versetxt"> And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying: 'Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this wealth.' And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime. And the LORD said unto Jacob: 'Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.' And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, and said unto them: 'I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as beforetime; but the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father hath mocked me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. If he said thus: The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the flock bore speckled; and if he said thus: The streaked shall be thy wages; then bore all the flock streaked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. And it came to pass at the time that the flock conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were streaked, speckled, and grizzled. And the angel of God said unto me in the dream: Jacob; and I said: Here am I. And he said: Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the flock are streaked, speckled, and grizzled; for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Beth-el, where thou didst anoint a pillar, where thou didst vow a vow unto Me. Now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy nativity.' And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him: 'Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not accounted by him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath also quite devoured our price. For all the riches which God hath taken away from our father, that is ours and our children's. Now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.' Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon the camels; and he carried away all his cattle, and all his substance which he had gathered, the cattle of his getting, which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father unto the land of Canaan. Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep. And Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's. And Jacob outwitted Laban the Aramean, in that he told him not that he fled. So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead. And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and he overtook him in the mountain of Gilead. And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night, and said unto him: 'Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.' And Laban came up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain; and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountain of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob: 'What hast thou done, that thou hast outwitted me, and carried away my daughters as though captives of the sword? Wherefore didst thou flee secretly, and outwit me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp; and didst not suffer me to kiss my sons and my daughters? now hast thou done foolishly. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt; but the God of your father spoke unto me yesternight, saying: Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. And now that thou art surely gone, because thou sore longest after thy father's house, wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?' And Jacob answered and said to Laban: 'Because I was afraid; for I said: Lest thou shouldest take thy daughters from me by force. With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, he shall not live; before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee.'--For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.-- And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two maid-servants; but he found them not. And he went out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the teraphim, and put them in the saddle of the camel, and sat upon them. And Laban felt about all the tent, but found them not. And she said to her father: 'Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise up before thee; for the manner of women is upon me.' And he searched, but found not the teraphim. And Jacob was wroth, and strove with Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban: 'What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast hotly pursued after me? Whereas thou hast felt about all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? Set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us two. These twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flocks have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bore the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. Thus I was: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes. These twenty years have I been in thy house: I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock; and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been on my side, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and gave judgment yesternight.' And Laban answered and said unto Jacob: 'The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is mine; and what can I do this day for these my daughters, or for their children whom they have borne? And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.' And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto his brethren: 'Gather stones'; and they took stones, and made a heap. And they did eat there by the heap. And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha; but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban said: 'This heap is witness between me and thee this day.' Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; and Mizpah, for he said: 'The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, and if thou shalt take wives beside my daughters, no man being with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.' And Laban said to Jacob: 'Behold this heap, and behold the pillar, which I have set up betwixt me and thee. This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us.' And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread; and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mountain.
Exodus 4:27
And the LORD said to Aaron: 'Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.' And he went, and met him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.
Ruth 1:9
The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband.' Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
Ruth 1:14
And they lifted up their voice, and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth cleaved unto her.
1 Samuel 13:13
And Samuel said to Saul: 'Thou hast done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which He commanded thee; for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
1 Kings 19:20
And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said: 'Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee.' And he said unto him: 'Go back; for what have I done to thee?'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war, which went out to battle,.... That is, out of the part of the prey which was divided to them:

one soul of five hundred, both "of the persons"; or one woman of five hundred, as the Targum of Jonathan:

and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep; that is, one out of five hundred, of each of them also.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 31:28. And levy a tribute unto the Lord - one soul of five hundred, &c. — The person to be employed in the Lord's service, under the Levites-the cattle either for sacrifice, or for the use of the Levites, Numbers 31:30. Some monsters have supposed that one out of every five hundred of the captives was offered in sacrifice to the Lord! but this is abominable. When God chose to have the life of a man, he took it in the way of justice, as in the case of Midianites above, but never in the way of sacrifice.


 
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