At the LORD’s command they were numbered through Moses and each one was assigned his work and burden, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Parallel translations
- WEB According to the commandment of Yahweh they were counted by Moses, everyone according to his service, and according to his burden. Thus were they counted by him, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
- KJV According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses.
- NKJV According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, each according to his service and according to his task; thus were they numbered by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
- NASB According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses, they were counted, everyone by his serving or carrying; so these were his numbered men, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
- NLT When their names were recorded, as the Lord had commanded through Moses, each man was assigned his task and told what to carry. And so the registration was completed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
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
Each Levite was assigned his service and burden exactly as the Lord commanded Moses. The whole census closes on the note of obedience.
Overview
This concluding verse stresses that every man's specific duty was determined by God's command, not human assignment. The chapter ends as it began, framed by obedience to the Lord. This faithful ordering of God's servants foreshadows the well-ordered body of Christ, in which each member is given his appointed place and work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Num 1:54Thus the Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Num 4:24This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transport:
- Num 4:31This is the duty for all their service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle with its crossbars, posts, and bases,
- Num 4:21And the LORD said to Moses,
- Num 4:15When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.
- Num 3:51And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the word of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.
- Isa 42:1–7“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
- Num 4:41These were counted from the Gershonite clans who served at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the LORD’s command.
- Isa 11:2–4The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
- Isa 49:1–8Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.
- Num 4:37These were counted from the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron numbered them according to the command of the LORD through Moses.
- Num 4:45These were counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the LORD’s command through Moses.
- Rom 12:4–8Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function,
- Num 1:47The Levites, however, were not numbered along with them by the tribe of their fathers.
- Num 2:33But the Levites were not counted among the other Israelites, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 4:49 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
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.