And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
Parallel translations
- WEB When God helped the Levites who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
- KJV And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams.
- NKJV And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bulls and seven rams.
- NASB Because God was helping the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
- NLT And because God was clearly helping the Levites as they carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Because God helped the Levites carrying the ark, they offered seven bulls and seven rams in sacrifice. They acknowledged that success came from God's enabling.
Overview
The sacrifices express gratitude and worship, recognizing that the safe transport of the ark was God's gracious help, not human strength alone. The contrast with the earlier disaster is pointed: now the Levites bear the ark as the Law commanded, and God blesses obedience. The atoning offerings point forward to Christ, whose once-for-all sacrifice grants believers safe access into God's presence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Num 23:29Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
- Ps 66:13–15I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You—
- 1 Chr 29:14But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.
- Job 42:8So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.”
- 2 Sam 6:13When those carrying the ark of the LORD had advanced six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.
- 2 Cor 3:5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- Num 29:32On the seventh day you are to present seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished,
- Ezek 45:23Each day during the seven days of the feast, he shall provide seven bulls and seven rams without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD, along with a male goat for a sin offering.
- Acts 26:22But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
- 2 Cor 2:16To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?
- Num 23:1–4Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
- 1 Sam 7:12Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The genealogies and the everlasting covenant with David trace the single thread of promise running through the generations straight to the Christ in whom the line reaches its goal.
How 1 Chronicles 15:26 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.