And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to Yahweh.
- BSB You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons and then present them before the LORD as a wave offering.
- 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 8:11And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.
- Num 8:21And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.
- Num 18:6And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
- Rom 12:1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
- Rom 15:16That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
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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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