48 Then the officers who were over the units of the army-the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds-went to Moses 49 and said to him, "Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing. 50 So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired-armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces-to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord." 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold-all the crafted articles. 52 All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the Lord weighed 16,750 shekels.[1] 53 Each soldier had taken plunder for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.

Other Translations of Numbers 31:48-54

King James Version

48 And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses: 49 And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, charge: Heb. hand and there lacketh not one man of us. 50 We have therefore brought an oblation for the Lord, what every man hath gotten, gotten: Heb. found of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the Lord. 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. 52 And all the gold of the offering offering: Heb. heave offering that they offered up to the Lord, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53 (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.

English Standard Version

48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses 49 and said to Moses, "Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us. 50 And we have brought the Lord's offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord." 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles. 52 And all the gold of the contribution that they presented to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels.A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams 53 (The men in the army had each taken plunder for himself.) 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the people of Israel before the Lord.

The Message

48 The military officers - commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds - came to Moses 49 and said, "We have counted the soldiers under our command and not a man is missing. 50 We've brought offerings to God from the gold jewelry we got - armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, ornaments - to make atonement for our lives before God." 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all that fine-crafted jewelry. 52 In total, the gold from the commanders of thousands and hundreds that Moses and Eleazar offered as a gift to God weighed about six hundred pounds, 53 all donated by the soldiers who had taken the booty. 54 Moses and Eleazar took the gold from the commanders of thousands and hundreds and brought it to the Tent of Meeting, to serve as a reminder for the People of Israel before God.

New King James Version

48 Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; 49 and they said to Moses, "Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing. 50 Therefore we have brought an offering for the Lord, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord." 51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments. 52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53 (The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting as a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.

New Living Translation

48 Then all the generals and captains came to Moses 49 and said, "We, your servants, have accounted for all the men who went out to battle under our command; not one of us is missing! 50 So we are presenting the items of gold we captured as an offering to the Lord from our share of the plunder-armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. This will purify our lives before the Lord and make us right with him. " 51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from all the military commanders-all kinds of jewelry and crafted objects. 52 In all, the gold that the generals and captains presented as a gift to the Lord weighed about 420 pounds. 53 All the fighting men had taken some of the plunder for themselves. 54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gifts from the generals and captains and brought the gold to the Tabernacle as a reminder to the Lord that the people of Israel belong to him.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 31:48-54

Commentary on Numbers 31:48-54

(Read Numbers 31:48-54)

The success of the Israelites had been very remarkable, so small a company overcoming such multitudes, but it was still more wonderful that not one was slain or missing. They presented the gold they found among the spoils, as an offering to the Lord. Thus they confessed, that instead of claiming a reward for their service, they needed forgiveness of much that had been amiss, and desired to be thankful for the preservation of their lives, which might justly have been taken away.