You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to Yahweh.
- KJV And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD.
- NKJV “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the Lord.
- NASB And you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the Lord.
- NLT Then have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons, and raise your hands and present them as a special offering to the Lord.
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 are set before Aaron and his sons and offered as a wave offering to the LORD. They are given to assist the priests.
Overview
Presenting the Levites before the priests establishes their subordinate role in serving the priesthood and the sanctuary. As an offering to God, they belong wholly to him for his work. Their dedicated service anticipates the ordered ministry of God's people united under Christ our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Num 8:11Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, so that they may perform the service of the LORD.
- Num 8:21The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.
- Num 18:6Behold, I Myself have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to perform the service for the Tent of Meeting.
- Rom 12:1Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
- Rom 15:16to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
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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 8:13 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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