Numbers 8:14

New Revised Standard

Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the other Israelites, and the Levites shall be mine.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Yisra'el, and the Levites shall be mine.

King James Version
Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

Lexham English Bible
"And you will separate the Levites from the midst of the Israelites, and the Levites will be for me.

New Century Version
In this way you must set apart the Levites from the other Israelites; the Levites will be mine.

New English Translation
And so you are to separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

Amplified Bible
"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites shall be Mine [in a very special sense].

New American Standard Bible
"So you shall single out the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thus thou shalt separate the Leuites from among the children of Israel, and the Leuites shal be mine.

Legacy Standard Bible
"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine.

Contemporary English Version
This ceremony will show that the Levites are different from the other Israelites and belong to me in a special way.

Complete Jewish Bible
In this way you will separate the L'vi'im from the people of Isra'el, and the L'vi'im will belong to me.

Darby Translation
And thou shalt separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, that the Levites may be mine.

Easy-to-Read Version
This will make the Levites holy. They will be different from the other Israelites. The Levites will belong to me.

English Standard Version
"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.

George Lamsa Translation
Thus shall you separate the Levites from among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.

Good News Translation
Separate the Levites in this way from the rest of the Israelites, so that they will belong to me.

Christian Standard Bible®
In this way you are to separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites so that the Levites will belong to me.

Literal Translation
And you shall separate the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall become Mine.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and so shalt thou separate them from ye children of Israel, that they maye be myne.

American Standard Version
Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.

Bible in Basic English
So you are to make the Levites separate from the children of Israel, and the Levites will be mine.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And thus thou shalt seperate the Leuites from among the children of Israel, and the Leuites shalbe myne.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be Mine.

King James Version (1611)
Thus shalt thou separate the Leuites from among the children of Israel: and the Leuites shalbe mine.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou shalt separate the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and they shall be mine.

English Revised Version
Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

Berean Standard Bible
In this way you shall separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites will belong to Me.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and thou schalt departe hem fro the myddis of the sones of Israel, that thei be myne.

Young's Literal Translation
and thou hast separated the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and the Levites have become Mine;

Update Bible Version
Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

World English Bible
Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.

New King James Version
Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine.

New Living Translation
In this way, you will set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel, and the Levites will belong to me.

New Life Bible
"So you will divide the Levites from the people of Israel. And the Levites will be Mine.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
thus shalt thou separate the Levites out of the midst of the sons of Israel, - thus shall the Levites become mine.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And shalt separate them from the midst of the children of Israel, to be mine.

Revised Standard Version
"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine.

Contextual Overview

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ⁶ Take the Levites from among the Israelites and cleanse them. ⁷ Thus you shall do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification on them, have them shave their whole body with a razor and wash their clothes, and so cleanse themselves. ⁸ Then let them take a young bull and its grain offering of choice flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull for a sin offering. ⁹ You shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting, and assemble the whole congregation of the Israelites. ¹⁰ When you bring the Levites before the Lord , the Israelites shall lay their hands on the Levites, ¹¹ and Aaron shall present the Levites before the Lord as an elevation offering from the Israelites, that they may do the service of the Lord . ¹² The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and he shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord , to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³ Then you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you shall present them as an elevation offering to the Lord . ¹⁴ Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the other Israelites, and the Levites shall be mine.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

separate: Numbers 6:2, Deuteronomy 10:8, Romans 1:1, Galatians 1:15, Hebrews 7:26

and the Levites: Numbers 8:17, Numbers 3:45, Numbers 16:9, Numbers 16:10, Numbers 18:6, Malachi 3:17

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 15:2 - to minister

Cross-References

Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.

Genesis 8:13
In the six hundred first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying.

Genesis 8:14
In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel,.... By sprinkling the water of purification upon them; by offering sacrifices for them; by presenting them before the Lord, with the hands of the people of Israel put upon them; by offering and waving them before the Lord, and by setting them before Aaron and his sons, as their ministers:

and the Levites shall be mine: in a special and peculiar manner devoted to his service, and by him given to his priests for that purpose; so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan,

"and the Levites shall minister before me.''

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.