The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
Parallel translations
- WEB The poles shall be in the rings of the ark. They shall not be taken from it.
- BSB The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed.
- NKJV The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
- NASB The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it.
- NLT These carrying poles must stay inside the rings; never remove them.
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
The poles were to remain in the rings and never be removed. The ark was always to be ready and never handled improperly.
Overview
By keeping the poles permanently in place, Israel would never need to touch the ark itself, preserving its holiness at all times. This standing readiness suited an object that traveled with God's pilgrim people. The command guards against the danger of casual contact with the holy. It reinforces the lesson that God's presence is to be approached carefully and according to His instructions.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 1 Kgs 8:8And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.
- 2 Chr 5:9And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 25:15 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.