And the people of Israel did so …: In this verse it is implied, but not said, that Moses had commanded the Israelites what to do (see verse 2). Moses’ obedience is taken for granted. In some languages this may need to be made explicit by beginning this verse with “As the LORD said to Moses, so he commanded the people of Israel and they obeyed.”

And drove them outside the camp: Drove renders the same Hebrew verb translated “put out” in verses 2-3. The translation should not imply that any physical violence was involved. If there is a danger of this, then drove them outside is better rendered “put them outside” (similarly New Revised Standard Version) or “made them stay outside.”

As the LORD said to Moses, so the people of Israel did: This sentence repeats that the Israelites obeyed the LORD. Good News Translation omits this repetition.

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 .