21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, "This is what is required by the law that the Lord gave Moses:
21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses;
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men in the army who had gone to battle: "This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded Moses:
21 Eleazar the priest then spoke to the soldiers who had fought in the battle: "This is the ruling from the Revelation that God gave Moses:
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, "This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses:
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men who were in the battle, "The Lord has given Moses this legal requirement:
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 31:21
Commentary on Numbers 31:19-24
(Read Numbers 31:19-24)
The Israelites had to purify themselves according to the law, and to abide without the camp seven days, though they had not contracted any moral guilt, the war being just and lawful, and commanded by God. Thus God would preserve in their minds a dread and detestation of shedding blood. The spoil had been used by Midianites, and being now come into the possession of Israelites, it was fit that it should be purified.