This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service. You shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden to them by name. This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
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Numbers 4:31-33 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ houses; you shall count them from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting. This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service. You shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden to them by name. This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
Parallel Translations
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This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,
the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service. You shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden to them by name.
This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”
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And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,
And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.
This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
Show all 3 translations
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And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof;
and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, even all their appurtenance, and all that pertaineth to their service; and by name ye shall appoint the instruments of the charge of their burden.
This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.'
Cross-references (12)
- Exodus 38:21 (v32) These are the amounts of materials used for the tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the Testimony, as they were counted, according to the…
- Numbers 3:36-37 (v31) The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its…
- Numbers 4:28 (v33) This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting. Their duty shall be under the hand of Ithamar…
- Exodus 25:9 (v32) According to all that I show you, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all of its furniture, even so you shall make it.
- Exodus 26:15 (v31) “You shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright.
Show all 12 cross-references
- Exodus 38:17 (v32) The sockets for the pillars were of bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. Their capitals were overlaid with…
- Numbers 3:8 (v32) They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the obligations of the children of Israel, to do the service of the…
- Numbers 7:1 (v32) On the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed it and sanctified it with all its furniture, and the altar…
- Numbers 7:8-9 (v31) He gave four wagons and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the…
- Joshua 3:6 (v33) Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and cross over before the people.” They took up the ark of the…
- 1 Chronicles 9:29 (v32) Some of them also were appointed over the furniture, and over all the vessels of the sanctuary, over the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the…
- Isaiah 3:6 (v33) Indeed a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, “You have clothing, you be our ruler, and let this ruin be…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v32 Ye shall make an inventory of all the things,…
Ye shall make an inventory of all the things, which ye commit to their charge.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v32 Num 4:32 And the pillars of the court round…
Num 4:32 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.
Ver. 32. By name ye shall reckon.] That all might be ready and forthcoming, when the sanctuary was set up again. Christ "knoweth" and "calleth" all his "by name," {Joh 10:3} not the meanest of them is missing. {Joh 17:12}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv31–32 Which were as the feet upon which the pillars…
Which were as the feet upon which the pillars stood; of which see Exo 38:27.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv31–33 And Moses and Aaron, and the chief of the…
And Moses and Aaron, and the chief of the congregation,
numbered the sons of the Kohathites,.... Perhaps these chiefs were the same with those who were concerned with Moses and Aaron in numbering all the tribes whose names were given, Num 1:5; the Kohathites are begun with, according to the divine direction, and then the Gershonites and Merarites in their order; and in Num 4:34 is only an account of the numbering of each of them, as ordered by the Lord, and this account is expressed in the same terms in them all; there remains nothing to be observed but the particular sums of each of them, the number of the Kohathites from thirty years old even to fifty, men able and fit for business, were 2750, Num 4:36; whereas their number from a month old were 8600, Num 3:28; so that not a third part of them were at an age for service: the number of the Gershonites were 2630, Num 4:40; whose number of males in all were 7500, Num 3:22; so that they were rather more than a third part who were able-bodied then and fit for business; and the number of the Merarites were 3200, Num 4:44; and as the number of males of a month old and upwards were 6200, Num 3:34; there were more than half of them able and fit men for service; in which, as Ainsworth observes, may be seen the wisdom of divine Providence, that whereas the service of the Kohathites and Gershonites were the lightest, and what was committed to them the easiest of carriage, they had the fewer hands of able men to be employed, though their numbers of individuals were the greatest; and the Merarites, who had the smallest number of males, yet having the heaviest work to do in carrying burdens, loading and unloading wagons, were superior to the rest in their number of able bodied men; and thus God makes good his promise, that as the day of his people is, their strength shall be; whatever work and service God calls men to, he will fit them for it: the sum total of the Levites, in the several divisions of them, who were between: thirty and fifty years of age, in which they performed their office, was 8580, Num 4:48; a small number, as the above writer observes, of such as warred the spiritual warfare in the sanctuary of God, when the tribe of Judah afforded 74,600 for the outward warfare.
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after their families, and after the house of their fathers; See Gill on Num 4:2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv31–32 The sockets - Which were as the feet upon…
The sockets - Which were as the feet upon which the pillars stood.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v32 Num 4:32. Ye shall reckon — Every part and…
Num 4:32. Ye shall reckon — Every part and parcel shall be put in an inventory; which is required here rather than in the foregoing particulars, because these were much more numerous than the former; because, being meaner things, they might otherwise have been neglected; and also to teach us that God esteems nothing small in his service, and that he expects his will should be observed in the minutest circumstances. The death of the saints is represented as the taking down of the tabernacle. The immortal soul, like the most holy things, is first covered and taken away, carried by angels unseen, and care is taken also of the body, the skin and the flesh, which are as the curtains, the bones and sinews, which are as the bars and pillars. None of these shall be lost. Commandment is given concerning the bones, a covenant made with the dust. They are in safe custody, and shall be produced in the great day, when this tabernacle shall be set up again, and these vile bodies made like the glorious body of Jesus Christ.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v32 32. By name… the instruments — As there was…
32. By name… the instruments — As there was a great difference in the weight of these various parts, the burdens might be very unequally distributed if each was left free to choose his own. Hence this precaution prevented strife and injustice. The phrase “by name” implies that an inventory was kept, not only on account of the number and variety, but of the comparative commonness and smallness of those things which might have been easily lost through carelessness. There is nothing trivial in the service of God.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v32 32. the instruments of the charge of their burden]…
32. the instruments of the charge of their burden] i.e. the articles committed to their charge to carry.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv31–32 (31) The boards of the tabernacle, and the bars…
(31) The boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof . . . —The duty of the Merarites was to carry the heavier and more cumbersome parts of the Tabernacle and the court; and it is probably on this account that, in their case, the specific duties of each were assigned to them by name (Num_4:32). The description of the several portions of the Tabernacle and Court here enumerated is found in Exodus 26, 36.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv31–32 This is the charge of their burden, viz., all…
This is the charge of their burden, viz., all the solid parts of the fabric of the tabernacle and its court; by far the heaviest burden, and so allotted to the largest number.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv31, 33 This is their responsibility
This is their responsibility
"This" refers to what Yahweh says next.
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their sockets, pegs, and their ropes, with all their hardware
Here "their" refers to the posts of the court.
crossbars, posts, and sockets ... and their ropes
These are all parts of the framing of the tabernacle. See how you translated all of these parts in Numbers 4:31-32.
List by name the articles they must carry
"List by each man's name the articles he must carry"
translationWords
tent of meeting
tabernacle
court
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.