This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:
Parallel translations
- WEB “This is that which belongs to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to wait on the service in the work of the Tent of Meeting;
- BSB “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
- NKJV “This is what pertains to the Levites: From twenty-five years old and above one may enter to perform service in the work of the tabernacle of meeting;
- NASB “This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting.
- NLT “This is the rule the Levites must follow: They must begin serving in the Tabernacle at the age of twenty-five,
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
Levites began their service at age twenty-five. God set an appointed time for entering sacred work.
Overview
God establishes a starting age for Levite ministry, allowing for training before fuller duties. The number here is sometimes compared with thirty in chapter four, often explained as an apprenticeship period beginning at twenty-five and full service at thirty. The detail shows God's orderly provision for ongoing, generational ministry.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Num 4:3From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
- 1 Chr 23:3Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.
- Num 4:23From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
- 1 Cor 9:7Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?
- 1 Chr 23:24–27These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward.
- 2 Cor 10:4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
- 2 Tim 2:3–5Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
- 1 Chr 28:12–13And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things:
- 1 Tim 1:18This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
- 1 Tim 6:12Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:24 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.