“Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of the Israelites.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not count, neither shall you take a census of them among the children of Israel;
- KJV Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:
- BSB “Do not number the tribe of Levi in the census with the other Israelites.
- ESV “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel.
- NKJV “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel;
- NASB “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not count, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
God commands that the tribe of Levi not be counted in the military census. They are reserved for sacred duties instead.
Overview
The LORD explicitly sets Levi apart from the army count, distinguishing their calling from that of the other tribes. The Levites would serve in place of Israel's firstborn, who belonged to God (Num. 3:12-13). This separation for holy service foreshadows the consecration of God's people as a kingdom of priests.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Num 26:62Those who were counted of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not counted among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.
- Num 2:33But the Levites were not counted among the children of Israel; as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 1:49 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
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