Numbers 31:48-54

31:48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders over thousands and the commanders over hundreds, approached Moses 31:49 and said to him, ¹  “Your servants have taken a count ²  of the men who were in the battle, who were under our authority, ³  and not one is missing. 31:50 So we have brought as an offering for the Lord what each man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves ⁴  before the Lord.” ⁵  31:51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all of it in the form of ornaments. 31:52 All the gold of the offering they offered up to the Lord from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds weighed 16,750 shekels. ⁶  31:53 Each soldier had taken plunder for himself. 31:54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders ⁷  of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial ⁸  for the Israelites before the Lord.

[31:49]  ¹ tn Heb “to Moses”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:49]  ² tn Heb “lifted up the head.”

[31:49]  ³ tn Heb “in our hand.”

[31:50]  ⁴ tn Heb “our souls.”

[31:50]  ⁵ sn The expression here may include the idea of finding protection from divine wrath, which is so common to Leviticus, but it may also be a thank offering for the fact that their lives had been spared.

[31:52]  ⁶ sn Or about 420 imperial pounds.

[31:54]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text does not repeat the word “commanders” here, but it is implied.

[31:54]  ⁸ tn The purpose of the offering was to remind the Lord to remember Israel. But it would also be an encouragement for Israel as they remembered the great victory.