And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD [is] among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.
Ver. 31. And Phinehas.] Who here showed himself to be, as an ambassador should be, Vir bonus dicendi peritus; a good man and well spoken.
This day we perceive that the Lord is among us.] Since we are all of one heart and one soul in his service, and you are not guilty of this apostasy. Of bees they say that stir and strife among them is a sign their queen is about to remove, to leave the hive, and to be gone. So God; dissension driveth him from a people, and lets in dissolution.