Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
Parallel translations
- WEB “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is how you shall bless the children of Israel.’ You shall tell them,
- BSB “Tell Aaron and his sons: This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
- NKJV “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:
- NASB “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘In this way you shall bless the sons of Israel. You are to say to them:
- NLT “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:
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 Aaron and his sons, the priests, to bless Israel with these specific words.
Overview
The priests were appointed to pronounce God's blessing over the people, mediating His favor. The blessing was not the priests' invention but God's gift placed in their mouths. This priestly mediation of blessing finds its fulfillment in Christ, who blesses His people and ascended with hands lifted in blessing (Luke 24:50-51).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- 1 Chr 23:13The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.
- Gen 48:20And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
- Deut 21:5And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:
- Heb 7:1For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
- Gen 14:19–20And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
- Gen 27:27–29And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:
- Luke 24:50–51And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.
- Gen 47:7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
- 2 Jn 1:3Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
- Lev 9:22–23And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.
- 2 Cor 13:14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
- Heb 11:20–21By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
- Gen 28:3–4And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
- Gen 47:10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
- Josh 8:33And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel.
- Deut 10:8At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
- 1 Cor 1:3Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Pet 1:2–3Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
- 1 Pet 1:2Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
- Rom 1:7To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Heb 7:7And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
- Deut 33:1And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
- Gen 24:60And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
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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 6:23 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.