14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army-the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds-who returned from the battle.
14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.
14 And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war.
14 Moses was furious with the army officers - the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds - as they came back from the battlefield:
14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle.
14 But Moses was furious with all the generals and captains who had returned from the battle.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 31:14
Commentary on Numbers 31:13-18
(Read Numbers 31:13-18)
The sword of war should spare women and children; but the sword of justice should know no distinction, but that of guilty or not guilty. This war was the execution of a righteous sentence upon a guilty nation, in which the women were the worst criminals. The female children were spared, who, being brought up among the Israelites, would not tempt them to idolatry. The whole history shows the hatefulness of sin, and the guilt of tempting others; it teaches us to avoid all occasions of evil, and to give no quarter to inward lusts. The women and children were not kept for sinful purposes, but for slaves, a custom every where practised in former times, as to captives. In the course of providence, when famine and plagues visit a nation for sin, children suffer in the common calamity. In this case parents are punished in their children; and for children dying before actual sin, full provision is made as to their eternal happiness, by the mercy of God in Christ.