Numbers 8:25

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting on the work, and shall serve no more,

King James Version
And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:

Lexham English Bible
and those fifty years old will return from the service of the work and will serve no longer.

New Century Version
At the age of fifty, they must retire from their jobs and not work again.

New English Translation
and at the age of fifty years they must retire from performing the work and may no longer work.

Amplified Bible
but at the age of fifty years, they shall retire from the service of the [tabernacle] work and serve no longer.

New American Standard Bible
"But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work anymore.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And after the age of fiftie yeere, they shall cease from executing the office, and shall serue no more:

Legacy Standard Bible
But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from their duty in the service and not serve anymore.

Complete Jewish Bible
and when they reach the age of fifty, they are to stop performing this work and not serve any longer.

Darby Translation
And from fifty years old he shall retire from the labour of the service, and shall serve no more;

Easy-to-Read Version
But when a man is 50 years old, he will retire from this hard work.

English Standard Version
And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more.

George Lamsa Translation
And from the age of fifty years they shall cease from the service and shall serve no more,

Good News Translation
and at the age of fifty he shall retire.

Christian Standard Bible®
But at fifty years old he is to retire from his service in the work and no longer serve.

Literal Translation
And from a son of fifty years they shall return from the service of the work, and shall not serve any more.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But fro fyftie yeare forth, they shal ceasse from the waitinge of the seruyce therof, and shall mynister nomore,

American Standard Version
and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the work, and shall serve no more,

Bible in Basic English
But after they are fifty years old, they are to give up their work and do no more;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And from the age of fiftie yeres, they shall ceasse waytyng vpon the seruice therof, and shall serue no more:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
and from the age of fifty years they shall return from the service of the work, and shall serve no more;

King James Version (1611)
And from the age of fiftie yeeres they shall cease waiting vpon the seruice thereof, and shall serue no more:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And from fifty years old the Levites shall cease from the ministry, and shall not work any longer.

English Revised Version
and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the work, and shall serve no more;

Berean Standard Bible
But at the age of fifty, they must retire from performing the work and no longer serve.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and whanne thei han fillid the fiftithe yeer of age, thei schulen ceesse to serue.

Young's Literal Translation
and from a son of fifty years he doth return from the host of the service, and doth not serve any more,

Update Bible Version
and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting on the work, and shall serve no more,

Webster's Bible Translation
And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service [of it], and shall serve no more:

World English Bible
and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting on the work, and shall serve no more,

New King James Version
and at the age of fifty years they must cease performing this work, and shall work no more.

New Living Translation
and they must retire at the age of fifty.

New Life Bible
But when they are fifty years old they will stop these duties and not work any more.

New Revised Standard
and from the age of fifty years they shall retire from the duty of the service and serve no more.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
but from the age of fifty years, shall they retire from taking rank in the labour, and shall do laborious work no more;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when they shall have accomplished the fiftieth year of their age, they shall cease to serve:

Revised Standard Version
and from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the work of the service and serve no more,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work any more.

Contextual Overview

⁵ God spoke to Moses: "Take the Levites from the midst of the People of Israel and purify them for doing God 's work. This is the way you will do it: Sprinkle water of absolution on them; have them shave their entire bodies; have them scrub their clothes. Then they will have purified themselves. ⁸"Have them take a young bull with its accompanying Grain-Offering of fine flour mixed with oil, plus a second young bull for an Absolution-Offering. Bring the Levites to the front of the Tent of Meeting and gather the entire community of Israel. Present the Levites before God as the People of Israel lay their hands on them. Aaron will present the Levites before God as a Wave-Offering from the People of Israel so that they will be ready to do God 's work. ¹²"Have the Levites place their hands on the heads of the bulls, selecting one for the Absolution-Offering and another for the Whole-Burnt-Offering to God to make atonement for the Levites. Then have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and present them as a Wave-Offering to God . This is the procedure for setting apart the Levites from the rest of the People of Israel; the Levites are exclusively for my use. ¹⁵"After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a Wave-Offering to God , they can go to work in the Tent of Meeting. The Levites have been selected out of the People of Israel for my exclusive use; they function in place of every firstborn male born to an Israelite woman. Every firstborn male in Israel, animal or human, is set apart for my use. When I struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, I consecrated them for my holy uses. But now I take the Levites as stand-ins in place of every firstborn son in Israel, selected out of the People of Israel, and I have given the Levites to Aaron and his sons to do all the work involved in the Tent of Meeting on behalf of all the People of Israel and to make atonement for them so that nothing bad will happen to them when they approach the Sanctuary." ²⁰Moses, Aaron, and the entire community of the People of Israel carried out these procedures with the Levites, just as God had commanded Moses. The Levites purified themselves and scrubbed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a Wave-Offering before God and made atonement for them to purify them. Only then did the Levites go to work at the Tent of Meeting. Aaron and his sons supervised them following the directions God had given. ²³ God spoke to Moses: "These are your instructions regarding the Levites: At the age of twenty-five they will join the workforce in the Tent of Meeting; at the age of fifty they must retire from the work. They can assist their brothers in the tasks in the Tent of Meeting, but they are not permitted to do the actual work themselves. These are the ground rules for the work of the Levites."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

cease waiting upon the service thereof: Heb. return from the warfare of the service, Numbers 4:23, 2 Timothy 4:7, The Levites, above fifty years of age, might superintend and assist their junior brethren in the ordinary offices, and give them and the people counsel and instruction; but they were exempted from carrying the tabernacle and from other laborious services. It is remarkable, that no law was made concerning the age at which the priests should begin to officiate, and though various blemishes disqualified them for the service of the sanctuary, yet they continued their ministrations till death, if capable. On the other hand, nothing is said concerning any bodily defects or blemishes disqualifying the Levites; but the time of their service is expressly settled. Their work was far more laborious than that of the priests; it is therefore likely that the priests would not begin very early to officiate; and the wisdom and experience of age would increase, rather than diminish, their fitness for the sacred duties of their office.

Reciprocal: Nehemiah 12:44 - Judah rejoiced

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service [thereof],.... The heavy service of it:

and shall serve no more; by bearing and carrying the vessels of the sanctuary upon their shoulders, as Jarchi interprets it; this, according to the Jewish writers, was only in force while the tabernacle was in the wilderness, and was moved from place to place: but when it had a fixed habitation, and that laborious service of bearing and carrying the vessels of it ceased, years made no difference in the Levites, or disqualified them for service; for it is said x, that the Levites were not bound by this law, but in the time of the tabernacle; but when it was at Shiloh, and at Jerusalem, where there was no bearing and carrying upon the shoulder, the Levites were not rejected on account of years, only for their voice, when they had lost that, and could not sing.

x Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Cholin, c. 1. sect. 6.