But Israel crossed his hands and put his right hand on the head of the younger boy Ephraim. Then Israel put his left hand on the head of the older boy Manasseh. He had his left hand on Manasseh, even though Manasseh was firstborn.
Numbers 8:18 - Easy To Read Version But now I will take the Levite people in their place. I will take the Levite people in place of all the firstborn sons from the other families in Israel. More versionsKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the Israelites. American Standard Version (1901) And I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel. Common English Bible I have taken the Levites in place of all the oldest among the Israelites. Catholic Public Domain Version And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel. |
But Israel crossed his hands and put his right hand on the head of the younger boy Ephraim. Then Israel put his left hand on the head of the older boy Manasseh. He had his left hand on Manasseh, even though Manasseh was firstborn.
“{I told you that every family of Israel must give their firstborn [31] son to me}—but now I am choosing the Levites to serve me. They will be mine. So all the other people of Israel will not have to give their firstborn sons to me.
“Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. The Levites were chosen from all the people of Israel to help Aaron and his sons.
Every firstborn male in Israel is mine. It doesn’t matter if it is a man or animal, it is still mine. Why? Because I killed all the firstborn children and animals in Egypt. And I chose to take the firstborn sons to belong to me.
I chose the Levite people from among all the people of Israel. And I give them as gifts to Aaron and his sons. I want them to do the work at the Meeting Tent. They will serve for all the people of Israel. They will help make the sacrifices that make the people of Israel pure. Then no great sickness or trouble will come to the people of Israel when they come near the holy place.”