And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle.
Parallel translations
- WEB They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.
- KJV And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.
- BSB They are to perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, attending to the service of the tabernacle.
- NASB They shall perform the duties for him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.
- NLT They will serve Aaron and the whole community, performing their sacred duties in and around the Tabernacle.
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 Levites were to keep the duties of Aaron and the congregation by serving the tabernacle. They guarded and maintained the place of God's dwelling.
Overview
The Levites bore responsibility for the ongoing service of the tabernacle on behalf of both the priests and the whole nation. Their work ensured that worship continued in proper order. This service safeguarded Israel's access to God and pictures the diligence required in caring for the things of God within His house.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Num 1:50but appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle, and all its furnishings; and they shall take care of it, and shall encamp around it.
- Num 8:15“After that, the Levites shall go in to do the service of the Tent of Meeting: and you shall cleanse them, and offer them as a wave offering.
- Num 8:11and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Yahweh for a wave offering, on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Yahweh.
- Num 31:30Of the children of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites, who perform the duty of Yahweh’s tabernacle.”
- 1 Chr 26:22The sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother, over the treasures of Yahweh’s house.
- 1 Chr 26:26This Shelomoth and his brothers were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the heads of the fathers’ households, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated.
- Num 3:32Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, with the oversight of those who keep the requirements of the sanctuary.
- 1 Chr 26:20Of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of God’s house and over the treasures of the dedicated things.
- 1 Chr 23:28–32For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of Yahweh’s house, in the courts, and in the rooms, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of God’s house;
- Num 8:24–26“This is that which belongs to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to wait on the service in the work of the Tent of Meeting;
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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 3:7 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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