Numbers 16 · Verse 15

Numbers 16:15

And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
Numbers 16:15, King James Version

Numbers 16:15 in other translations

BSBThen Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”
WEBMoses was very angry, and said to the LORD, “Don’t respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”
ASVAnd Moses was very wroth, and said unto Jehovah, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
YLTAnd it is very displeasing to Moses, and he saith unto Jehovah, ‘Turn not Thou unto their present; not one ass from them have I taken, nor have I afflicted one of them.'
DARBYThen Moses was very wroth, and said to Jehovah, Have no regard to their oblation: not one ass have I taken from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
BBEThen Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, Give no attention to their offering: not one of their asses have I taken, or done wrong to any of them.
WebsterAnd Moses was very wroth, and said to the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

What does Numbers 16:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
15. Moses was very wroth--Though the meekest of all men [Nu 12:3], he could not restrain his indignation at these unjust and groundless charges; and the highly excited state of his feeling was evinced by the utterance of a brief exclamation in the mixed form of a prayer and an impassioned assertion of his integrity. (Compare 1Sa 12:3). and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering--He calls it their offering, because, though it was to be offered by Korah and his Levitical associates, it was the united appeal of all the mutineers for deciding the contested claims of Moses and Aaron.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 Respect not thou their offering - There was no danger of this: they wished to set up a priesthood and a sacrificial system of their own; and God never has blessed, and never can bless, any scheme of salvation which is not of his own appointment. Man is ever supposing that he can mend his Maker's work, or that he can make one of his own that will do in its place.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 16:12-15

Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram to bring their complaints; but they would not obey. They bring very false charges against Moses. Those often fall under the heaviest censures, who in truth deserve the highest praise. Moses, though the meekest man, yet, finding God reproached in him, was very wroth; he could not bear to see the people ruining themselves. He appeals to God as to his own integrity. He bade them appear…

Read the full comment on Numbers 16:12-15 →

Numbers 16:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּ֤חַרvai.Yi.charand it burnedH2734
לְמֹשֶׁה֙le.mo.Shehto MosesH4872
מְאֹ֔דme.'OdexceedinglyH3966
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙vai.Yo.merand he saidH559
אֶל\־'el-toH413
יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אַל\־'al-may notH408
תֵּ֖פֶןTe.fenyou turnH6437
אֶל\־'el-toH413
מִנְחָתָ֑םmin.cha.Tamoffering theirH4503
לֹ֠אlo'notH3808
חֲמ֨וֹרcha.Mora donkeyH2543
אֶחָ֤ד'e.ChadoneH259
מֵהֶם֙me.Hemfrom <the> them
נָשָׂ֔אתִיna.Sa.tiI have takenH5375
וְלֹ֥אve.Lo'and notH3808
הֲרֵעֹ֖תִיha.re.'O.tiI have done harm toH7489
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
אַחַ֥ד'a.ChadoneH259
מֵהֶֽם\׃me.Hemof <the> them

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 16:15

  • Genesis 4:4-5

    And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

  • 2 Corinthians 7:2

    Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.

  • 1 Corinthians 9:15

    But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.

  • Exodus 32:19

    And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

  • Numbers 12:3

    (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

  • Numbers 16:6-7

    This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.

  • 1 Thessalonians 2:10

    Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

  • Acts 20:33-34

    I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.

  • 1 Samuel 12:3-4

    Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand.

  • 2 Corinthians 12:14-17

    Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?

  • Isaiah 1:10-15

    Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. …

  • Mark 3:5

    And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
very wroth.
12:3; Ex 32:19; Mt 5:22; Mr 3:5; Eph 4:26
Respect.
6,7; Ge 4:4,5; Isa 1:10-15
I have not.Though Moses was their ruler, under God, yet, so far from oppressing them, he had not imposed the smallest tax, nor taken, as a present, so much as an ass from one of them. The common present that is now made to the great, in these countries, is a horse; but there is reason to believe, that an ass might formerly have answered the same purpose. "If it is a visit of ceremony from a {bashaw,}" says Dr. Russell, "or other person in power, a fine horse, sometimes with furniture, or some such valuable present, is made to him at his departure." As asses were esteemed no dishonourable beasts for the saddle, Sir. J. Chardin, in his MS., supposes, that when Samuel disclaimed having taken the ass of any one, (1 Sa 12:3,) he is to be understood of not having taken any ass for his riding. In the same light, he considers this similar declaration of Moses. His reason is "asses being then esteemed very honourable creatures for riding on, (ch. 22:21, 30. Jud 5:10. 2 Sa 16:2,) as they are at this very time in Persia, being rode with saddles."
1Sa 12:3,4; Ac 20:33,34; 1Co 9:15; 2Co 1:12; 7:2; 12:14-17
1Th 2:10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Numbers 16:14

    Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.

  • Numbers 16:15

    And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the Lord, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.

  • Numbers 16:16

    And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow:

Read all of Numbers 16

Numbers 16:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces Moisés se enojó en gran manera, y dijo á Jehová: No mires á su presente: ni aun un asno he tomado de ellos, ni á ninguno de ellos he hecho mal.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Moïse entra dans une ardente colère, et il dit à l’ Éternel: N’aie pas égard à leur offrande; je n’ai pas pris d’eux même un âne, et je n’ai pas fait tort à un seul d’entre eux.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da ergrimmte Mose sehr und sprach zu Jehova: Wende dich nicht zu ihrer Opfergabe! nicht einen Esel habe ich von ihnen genommen, und keinem einzigen unter ihnen ein Leid getan.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Iratusque Moyses valde, ait ad Dominum: Ne respicias sacrificia eorum: tu scis quod ne asellum quidem umquam acceperim ab eis, nec afflixerim quempiam eorum.