For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me. For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself. I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
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Numbers 8:16-18 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“After that, the Levites shall go in to do the service of the Tent of Meeting. You shall cleanse them, and offer them as a wave offering. For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me. For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself. I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel. I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the Tent of Meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary.”
Parallel Translations
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For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me.
For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself.
I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
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For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
Show all 3 translations
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For they are wholly given unto Me from among the children of Israel; instead of all that openeth the womb, even the first-born of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto Me.
For all the first-born among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself.
And I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel.
Cross-references (20)
- Numbers 3:12 (v16) “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among the children of…
- Exodus 13:2 (v17) “Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It is mine.”
- Numbers 3:45 (v16) “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock;…
- Luke 2:23 (v17) (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),
- Exodus 13:12-15 (v17) that you shall set apart to Yahweh all that opens the womb, and every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have. The males shall…
Show all 20 cross-references
- Numbers 3:9 (v16) You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel.
- Exodus 12:29 (v17) At midnight, Yahweh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of…
- Exodus 29:44 (v17) I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar. I will also sanctify Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest’s office.
- Leviticus 27:14-15 (v17) “ ‘When a man dedicates his house to be holy to Yahweh, then the priest shall evaluate it, whether it is good or bad. As the priest…
- Leviticus 27:26 (v17) “ ‘However the firstborn among animals, which belongs to Yahweh as a firstborn, no man may dedicate, whether an ox or a sheep. It is…
- Numbers 3:13 (v17) for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in…
- Psalms 78:51 (v17) and struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.
- Psalms 105:36 (v17) He struck also all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood.
- Psalms 135:8 (v17) He struck the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and animal.
- Ezekiel 20:12 (v17) Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.
- John 10:36 (v17) do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’
- John 17:19 (v17) For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
- Hebrews 10:29 (v17) How much worse punishment do you think he will be judged worthy of who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of…
- Hebrews 11:28 (v17) By faith, he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them.
- James 1:18 (v17) Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (8 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v16 That is, they that are the firstborn.
That is, they that are the firstborn.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v16 They are given unto me by the people’s consent,…
They are given unto me by the people’s consent, as well as taken (as it follows) by my choice and command. See Num 3:9.
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 vv16–18 For they are wholly given unto me from among…
For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel,.... All of them, entirely, and most certainly; or, "given, given" (u), which is repeated for the confirmation of it; or because of their being twice given, first to the Lord by the children of Israel, and then by the Lord to Aaron and his sons, as Chaskuni; though Jarchi interprets it of the different parts of their service they were devoted to, given for bearing and carrying the vessels of the sanctuary, and given for the song, or to be singers in the temple:
instead of such as open, every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel have I taken them unto me; See Gill on Num 3:12, and See Gill on Num 3:13.
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(u) "dati, dati", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; so Drusius and Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v17 Verse 17. For all the first-born - are mine]…
Verse 17. For all the first-born - are mine] See the manner of redeeming the first-born, Nu 18:6.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v16 16. Wholly given — The Hebrew nethunim, nethunim, given,…
16. Wholly given — The Hebrew nethunim, nethunim, given, given, is emphatic by repetition. (See Num_3:9, note.) At first they were the only attendants of the priests, and performed all the menial service.
Subsequently they were re-enforced by three hundred and twenty captive Midianites, (Num_31:47,) and still later by the condemned Gibeonites. Jos_9:27, note. When the service became more stately and onerous David and the princes further strengthened the Levites by the gift of the Nethinim, either prisoners of war or a remnant of the Canaanites, to live within the enclosure of the temple and to do its rougher work. Ezr_8:20. Two hundred and twenty of these were enrolled by Ezra among the Levites to supply their lack of service through a decline of their zeal for Jehovah.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v16 (16) Instead of such as open every womb, even…
(16) Instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel.—It is difficult to determine whether the second clause is to be regarded as an exact equivalent, or as a limitation of the first. If an exact equivalent, a different meaning must be assigned to the firstborn from that which it commonly bears in the Pentateuch, where it appears to be restricted to the firstborn son on the father’s side. (Cf. Exo_13:2.)
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 v16 For they are wholly given unto me. See Num_3:5-13,…
For they are wholly given unto me. See Num_3:5-13, the substance of which is emphatically repeated here.
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 vv16, 18 each male child who opens the womb, the firstborn
each male child who opens the womb, the firstborn
These two phrases mean basically the same thing and are combined for emphasize the firstborn sons. (See: Parallelism)
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male child who opens the womb
This is an idiom. "To open the womb" means to give birth for the first time. Here this refers to the first male child to which a mother gives birth. AT: "child who is the firstborn son of his mother" (See: Idiom)
I took the lives
This is a polite way of referring to when a person kills someone. AT: "I killed" (See: Euphemism)
I set them apart
Here "them" refers to "the firstborn from among the people of Israel."
translationWords
womb
firstborn
descend
life
Egypt
set apart
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.