Numbers 8:9

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting. You shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Yisra'el.

King James Version
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:

Lexham English Bible
You will bring the Levites before the tent of assembly, and you will summon the entire community of the Israelites.

New Century Version
Bring the Levites to the front of the Meeting Tent, and gather all the Israelites around.

New English Translation
You are to bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire community of the Israelites.

Amplified Bible
"You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and you shall also assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel,

New American Standard Bible
"So you shall present the Levites in front of the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel,

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then thou shalt bring the Leuites before the Tabernacle of the Congregation, & asseble all the Congregation of the children of Israel.

Legacy Standard Bible
So you shall bring the Levites near before the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel,

Contemporary English Version
Then you, Moses, will call together all the people of Israel and have the Levites go to my sacred tent,

Complete Jewish Bible
You are to present the L'vi'im in front of the tent of meeting, and assemble the entire community of the people of Isra'el.

Darby Translation
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tent of meeting; and thou shalt gather together the whole assembly of the children of Israel.

Easy-to-Read Version
Bring the Levites to the area in front of the Meeting Tent. Then bring all the Israelites together at that place.

English Standard Version
And you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel.

George Lamsa Translation
And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation; and you shall gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together;

Good News Translation
Then assemble the whole community of Israel and have the Levites stand in front of the Tent of my presence.

Christian Standard Bible®
Bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire Israelite community.

Literal Translation
And you shall bring the Levites near before the tabernacle of the congregation. And you shall assemble all the company of the sons of Israel.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And thou shalt brynge the Leuites before the Tabernacle of wytnesse, and gather together the whole congregacion of ye children of Israel,

American Standard Version
And thou shalt present the Levites before the tent of meeting: and thou shalt assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel:

Bible in Basic English
And make the Levites come forward in front of the Tent of meeting, and let all the children of Israel come together:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And thou shalt bryng the Leuites before the tabernacle of the congregation, thou shalt gather the whole multitude of the children of Israel together,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And thou shalt present the Levites before the tent of meeting; and thou shalt assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel.

King James Version (1611)
And thou shalt bring the Leuites before the Tabernacle of the Congregation; and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of witness; and thou shalt assemble all the congregation of the sons of Israel.

English Revised Version
And thou shalt present the Levites before the tent of meeting: and thou shalt assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel:

Berean Standard Bible
Bring the Levites before the Tent of Meeting and assemble the entire congregation of the Israelites.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and thou schalt present the Leuytis bifor the tabernacle of boond of pees, whanne al the multitude of the sones of Israel is clepid togidere.

Young's Literal Translation
and thou hast brought near the Levites before the tent of meeting, and thou hast assembled the whole company of the sons of Israel,

Update Bible Version
And you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting: and you shall assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel:

Webster's Bible Translation
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt convene the whole assembly of the children of Israel:

World English Bible
You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting. You shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel.

New King James Version
And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel.

New Living Translation
Then assemble the whole community of Israel, and present the Levites at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

New Life Bible
Bring the Levites in front of the meeting tent and gather together all the people of Israel also.

New Revised Standard
You shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting, and assemble the whole congregation of the Israelites.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then shalt thou bring the Levites near, before the tent of meeting, - and shalt call together all the assembly of the sons of Israel;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude of the children of Israel:

Revised Standard Version
And you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting, and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"So you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel,

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

thou shalt bring: Exodus 29:4-37, Exodus 40:12

shalt gather the whole: The words, kol âdath, which are rendered "the whole assembly," often signify all the elders, or principal persons in the several tribes - Numbers 15:4, Numbers 25:7, Numbers 35:12. And they cannot well have any other sense here; for it would be impossible for all the children of Israel to put their hands on the Levites, as stated in the next verse. Leviticus 8:3

Reciprocal: Exodus 27:21 - the tabernacle of the congregation Ezra 6:18 - as it is written

Cross-References

Psalms 116:7
I said to myself, "Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings. Soul, you've been rescued from death; Eye, you've been rescued from tears; And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling."

Isaiah 60:8
"What's that we see in the distance, a cloud on the horizon, like doves darkening the sky? It's ships from the distant islands, the famous Tarshish ships Returning your children from faraway places, loaded with riches, with silver and gold, And backed by the name of your God , The Holy of Israel, showering you with splendor. Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings assist you in the conduct of worship. When I was angry I hit you hard. It's my desire now to be tender. Your Jerusalem gates will always be open —open house day and night!— Receiving deliveries of wealth from all nations, and their kings, the delivery boys! Any nation or kingdom that doesn't deliver will perish; those nations will be totally wasted. The rich woods of Lebanon will be delivered —all that cypress and oak and pine— To give a splendid elegance to my Sanctuary, as I make my footstool glorious. The descendants of your oppressor will come bowing and scraping to you. All who looked down at you in contempt will lick your boots. They'll confer a title on you: City of God , Zion of The Holy of Israel. Not long ago you were despised refuse— out-of-the-way, unvisited, ignored. But now I've put you on your feet, towering and grand forever, a joy to look at! When you suck the milk of nations and the breasts of royalty, You'll know that I, God , am your Savior, your Redeemer, Champion of Jacob. I'll give you only the best—no more hand-me-downs! Gold instead of bronze, silver instead of iron, bronze instead of wood, iron instead of stones. I'll install Peace to run your country, make Righteousness your boss. There'll be no more stories of crime in your land, no more robberies, no more vandalism. You'll name your main street Salvation Way, and install Praise Park at the center of town. You'll have no more need of the sun by day nor the brightness of the moon at night. God will be your eternal light, your God will bathe you in splendor. Your sun will never go down, your moon will never fade. I will be your eternal light. Your days of grieving are over. All your people will live right and well, in permanent possession of the land. They're the green shoot that I planted, planted with my own hands to display my glory. The runt will become a great tribe, the weakling become a strong nation. I am God . At the right time I'll make it happen."

Matthew 11:28
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation,.... Not without it, but within it, in the court of the tabernacle, at least at the door of it, where stood the altar of burnt offering, on which sacrifices for them were now to be offered:

and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together; the heads of the tribes, and elders of the people, as Aben Ezra interprets this phrase in Leviticus 8:3; where the whole congregation is said to be assembled at the consecration of the priests, as here at the consecration of the Levites, having a concern therein, as well as to be spectators and witnesses of this solemn affair; and no doubt as many of them as could conveniently assemble at the door of the tabernacle did, though every individual of that large body of people could not possibly do it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The Levites could only undertake their duties Numbers 3:0; Numbers 4:0 after the formal exchange of the Levites for the first-born Numbers 3:44-51.

The distinction between the “consecration” of the priests Leviticus 8:0 and the less solemn “purification” Numbers 8:21 of the Levites is marked. These rites of purification are similar to those incumbent on the priests of Egypt.

Numbers 8:7

Water of purifying - literally, “sin water:” i. e. water to cleanse from sin; no doubt taken from the laver of the sanctuary, which was used by the priests for purification before they went into the tabernacle to minister (compare Numbers 5:17; Exodus 30:18 ff).

The “sprinkling” of so large a body of men could have been only general, but tokens of individual purification are specified (compare also Leviticus 14:8).

Numbers 8:8

The two bullocks were “to make an atonement for the Levites,” and therefore are presented in their name. These offerings are similar to those prescribed in Leviticus 8:14 ff at the consecration of the priests, except that the burnt-offering was on that occasion a ram. The larger victim corresponds to the larger number of the Levites.

Numbers 8:10

The children of Israel - i. e. through the heads of their tribes, who Numbers 7:2 no doubt acted for their tribesmen. This act, the distinguishing feature of the ceremony, represented the transfer to the Levites of the sacred duties originally incumbent on the whole people.

Numbers 8:11

Offer ... offering - Compare the margin Aaron pointed to the Levites, and then waved his hands, indicating (compare Leviticus 7:30 note) that the offering was dedicated to God, and, again, by grant from Him, withdrawn for the use of the priests.

Numbers 8:19

Make an atonement for the children of Israel - i. e. by performing those services which were due from the children of Israel; the omission of which by the children of Israel would, but for the interposition of the Levites, have called down “wrath” from God, or Numbers 1:53 “plague.” The institution of the Levites was an extension of that mediatorial system which the people themselves, terrified at the direct manifestations to them of the divine presence, desired; see Deuteronomy 5:25. Further, it is suggested to us here as an act of mercy on the part of God; yet even the priests and Levites themselves were not always sufficiently heedful and reverent. Compare Numbers 17:10; Leviticus 10:1 ff; 2 Samuel 6:6 following.

Numbers 8:21

Were purified - Rather, purified themselves; as directed in Numbers 8:7.