4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the Lord spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.
4 The Israelites did so; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
4 And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.
4 The People of Israel did this, banning them from the camp. They did exactly what God had commanded through Moses.
4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.
4 So the Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses and removed such people from the camp.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 5:4
Commentary on Numbers 5:1-10
(Read Numbers 5:1-10)
The camp was to be cleansed. The purity of the church must be kept as carefully as the peace and order of it. Every polluted Israelite must be separated. The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable. The greater profession of religion any house or family makes, the more they are obliged to put away iniquity far from them. If a man overreach or defraud his brother in any matter, it is a trespass against the Lord, who strictly charges and commands us to do justly. What is to be done when a man's awakened conscience charges him with guilt of this kind, though done long ago? He must confess his sin, confess it to God, confess it to his neighbour, and take shame to himself; though it go against him to own himself in a lie, yet he must do it. Satisfaction must be made for the offence done to God, as well as for the loss sustained by the neighbour; restitution in that case is not enough without faith and repentance. While that which is wrongly gotten is knowingly kept, the guilt remains on the conscience, and is not done away by sacrifice or offering, prayers or tears; for it is the same act of sin persisted in. This is the doctrine of right reason, and of the word of God. It detects hypocrites, and directs the tender conscience to proper conduct, which, springing from faith in Christ, will make way for inward peace.