may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you.
- KJV The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
- NKJV The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;
- NASB ¶The Lord cause His face to shine on you, And be gracious to you;
- NLT May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
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 blessing asks that the Lord's shining face and grace rest upon His people.
Overview
God's shining face is a vivid image of His pleasure, favor, and gracious presence. To seek His face is to seek the warmth of His acceptance rather than the darkness of His displeasure. This grace is fully revealed in 'the face of Jesus Christ,' where God's glory shines (2 Cor 4:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 80:19Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
- Ps 119:135Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes.
- Ps 31:16Make Your face shine on Your servant; save me by Your loving devotion.
- Ps 67:1For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song. May God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
- Dan 9:17So now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary.
- Ps 80:7Restore us, O God of Hosts, and cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
- Exod 33:19“I will cause all My goodness to pass before you,” the LORD replied, “and I will proclaim My name—the LORD—in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
- Mal 1:9“But ask now for God’s favor. Will He be gracious? Since this has come from your hands, will He show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.
- Gen 43:29When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” Then he declared, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
- Ps 21:6For You grant him blessings forever; You cheer him with joy in Your presence.
- Ps 86:16Turn to me and have mercy; grant Your strength to Your servant; save the son of Your maidservant.
- Ps 80:1–3For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 6:25 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.