And Moses was angry with …: The next verse explains why Moses was angry. The conjunction And may be rendered “But” (New Living Translation, NET Bible) since Moses’ angry response seems surprising.

The officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds: The Hebrew word for officers is literally “those selected” or “those enlisted.” It renders the same Hebrew verb translated “number” (paqad) in 1.3 (see the comments there). The phrase the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds is in apposition to the officers of the army, so it may be introduced with an expression such as “that is [to say].” This phrase refers to leaders of military units, so Good News Translation says “the commanders of battalions and companies.” Another possible model is “the generals and captains” (similarly Moffatt).

Who had come from service in the war: The Hebrew word for service (tsavaʾ) refers to military service in this context (see 4.3). This phrase may be rendered “who had returned from the battle” (New Living Translation; similarly SPCL).

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .