Numbers 8:10

Complete Jewish Bible

You will present the L'vi'im before Adonai , the people of Isra'el will lay their hands on the L'vi'im,

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
You shall present the Levites before the LORD. The children of Yisra'el shall lay their hands on the Levites,

King James Version
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord : and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:

Lexham English Bible
And you will bring the Levites before Yahweh, and the Israelites will lay their hands on the Levites,

New Century Version
When you bring the Levites before the Lord , the Israelites should put their hands on them.

New English Translation
Then you are to bring the Levites before the Lord , and the Israelites are to lay their hands on the Levites;

Amplified Bible
and present the Levites before the LORD, and the Israelites shall lay their hands on the Levites.

New American Standard Bible
and present the Levites before the LORD; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thou shalt bring the Leuites also before the Lorde, and the children of Israel shall put their handes vpon the Leuites.

Legacy Standard Bible
and bring the Levites near before Yahweh; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites.

Contemporary English Version
where the people will place their hands on them.

Darby Translation
And thou shalt bring the Levites before Jehovah; and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites.

Easy-to-Read Version
Bring the Levites before the Lord . The Israelites will put their hands on them.

English Standard Version
When you bring the Levites before the Lord , the people of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites,

George Lamsa Translation
Then you shall bring the Levites before the LORD; and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites;

Good News Translation
The people of Israel are to place their hands on the heads of the Levites,

Christian Standard Bible®
Then present the Levites before the Lord, and have the Israelites lay their hands on them.

Literal Translation
And you shall bring the Levites before Jehovah; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and brynge the Leuytes before the LORDE. And the children of Israel shall laye their handes vpon the Leuites.

American Standard Version
and thou shalt present the Levites before Jehovah. And the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites:

Bible in Basic English
And you are to take the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel are to put their hands on them:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And bryng the Leuites before the Lorde, and the children of Israel shall put their handes vpon the Leuites.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And thou shalt present the Levites before the LORD; and the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites.

King James Version (1611)
And thou shalt bring the Leuites before the Lord, and the children of Israel shall put their hands vpon the Leuites.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites.

English Revised Version
and thou shalt present the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites:

Berean Standard Bible
You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne the Leuytis ben bifor the Lord, the sones of Israel schulen sette her hondis on hem;

Young's Literal Translation
and thou hast brought near the Levites before Jehovah, and the sons of Israel have laid their hands on the Levites,

Update Bible Version
and you shall present the Levites before Yahweh. And the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites:

Webster's Bible Translation
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:

World English Bible
You shall present the Levites before Yahweh. The children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites,

New King James Version
So you shall bring the Levites before the LORD, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites;

New Living Translation
When you present the Levites before the Lord , the people of Israel must lay their hands on them.

New Life Bible
Bring the Levites before the Lord and the people of Israel will lay their hands on the Levites.

New Revised Standard
When you bring the Levites before the Lord , the Israelites shall lay their hands on the Levites,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and shalt bring the Levites near before Yahweh, - and the sons of Israel shall lean their hands upon the Levites;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when the Levites are before the Lord, the children of Israel shall put their hands upon them:

Revised Standard Version
When you present the Levites before the LORD, the people of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and present the Levites before the LORD; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites.

Contextual Overview

⁵ Adonai said to Moshe, ⁶ "Take the L'vi'im from among the people of Isra'el and cleanse them. ⁷ Here is how you are to cleanse them: sprinkle the purification water on them, have them shave their whole body with a razor, and have them wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. ⁸ Then they are to take a young bull with its grain offering, which is to be fine flour mixed with olive oil; while you take another bull for a sin offering. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ You will present the L'vi'im before Adonai , the people of Isra'el will lay their hands on the L'vi'im, ¹¹ and Aharon will offer the L'vi'im before Adonai as a wave offering from the people of Isra'el, so that they may do Adonai 's service. ¹² The L'vi'im will lay their hands on the heads of the bulls; the one you will offer as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to Adonai to make atonement for the L'vi'im. ¹³ You are to place the L'vi'im before Aharon and his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to Adonai . ¹⁴ 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.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Numbers 3:45, Leviticus 1:4, Acts 6:6, Acts 13:2, Acts 13:3, 1 Timothy 4:14, 1 Timothy 5:22

Reciprocal: Genesis 48:14 - and laid Numbers 8:16 - wholly given Acts 8:17 - laid

Cross-References

Genesis 7:4
For in seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; I will wipe out every living thing that I have made from the face of the earth."

Genesis 7:10
After seven days the water flooded the earth.

Genesis 8:12
He waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, and she didn't return to him any more.

Psalms 40:1
For the leader. A psalm of David:

Isaiah 8:17
I will wait for Adonai , who is hiding his face from the house of Ya‘akov; yes, I will look for him.

Isaiah 26:8
Following the way of your judgments, we put our hope in you. The desire of all our soul is to remember you and your name.

Romans 8:25
But if we continue hoping for something we don't see, then we still wait eagerly for it, with perseverance.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord,.... From the door of the tabernacle, to the altar of burnt offering, where the Lord was in some sense present to accept the sacrifices offered to him:

and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites; as were used to be put upon sacrifices, for the Levites were themselves offered for an offering of the children of Israel, as is expressed in Numbers 8:11; by which rite they signified that they voluntarily parted with them, and gave them up to the Lord, and transferred their service to them, in which they were to serve in their room and stead; these, according to some Jewish writers, were the firstborn of Israel that laid their hands on the Levites, a type of the general assembly and church of the firstborn; or rather the princes and heads of the tribes, who represented the whole body. Some think by this rite is signified the consent of the people in the designation and appointment of the ministers of the word to their work and office; but what in the New Testament seems to answer to this is, the laying of the hands of the presbytery on ministers of the word, 1 Timothy 4:14.

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.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 8:10. Shall put their hands upon the Levites — It has been argued from this that the congregation had a part in the appointment of their own ministers, and that this was done by the imposition of hands. However that may be, it appears that what was done on this occasion meant no more than that the people gave up this whole tribe to God in place of their firstborn; and that by this act they bound themselves to provide for them who, because of their sacred service, could follow no secular work. And surely it was right, that they who served the altar should live by the altar. The ministers of God perform offices for the people which the people cannot perform for themselves; and nothing can be more reasonable than that the people should give them the necessaries and comforts of life while they are thus employed in their behalf.