Numbers 6:24
in Numbers 6‘May the LORD bless you and keep you;
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee:
KJV
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
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This verse in Numbers 6
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe Lord bless thee - There are three forms of blessing here, any or all of which the priests might use on any occasion. The following is a verbal translation: - 1. May Jehovah bless thee and preserve thee! 2. May Jehovah cause his faces to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee! 3. May Jehovah lift up his faces upon thee, and may be put prosperity unto thee! This is a very comprehensive and excellent prayer, and may be paraphrased thus: - 1. May God speak good unto thee, by giving thee his excellent promises!
This site's exposition
May the LORD bless you and keep you
The three lines lengthen in the Hebrew, three words, then five, then seven, and the name of the LORD stands in each. Charles Spurgeon, in Two Choice Benedictions, took the three uses of the name as Father, Son and Spirit. Jewish tradition reads one God named three times.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
That the favour of God is all in all in this blessing, for that is the fountain of all good. (1.) The Lord bless thee! Our blessing God is only our speaking well of him; his blessing us is doing well for us; those whom he blesses are blessed indeed.
Bless thee - Bestow upon you all manner of blessings, temporal and spiritual. Keep thee - That is, continue his blessings to thee, and preserve thee in and to the use of them; keep thee from sin and its bitter effects.
The Lord bless thee,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
THE Lord has blessed His people and He would have them know it. He has blessed them with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus—and it is His wish that they should experience the fullness of this blessing. Are any of the Lord's people without a sense of His blessing? It is not the will of God that you should continue in this low condition! If you are cast down, He has said to His Prophets, "Comfort you, comfort you My people. Speak you comfortably to Jerusalem." Have you sinned and wandered into the darkness?
THE Lord has blessed His people and He would have them know it. He has blessed them with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus—and it is His wish that they should experience the fullness of this blessing. Are any of the Lord's people without a sense of His blessing? It is not the will of God that you should continue in this low condition! If you are cast down, He has said to His Prophets, "Comfort you, comfort you My people. Speak you comfortably to Jerusalem." Have you sinned and wandered into the darkness? The Lord bids you return and encourages you to pray, "Turn us again, O God, and cause Your face to shine and we shall be saved." The happy God would have you happy in the enjoyment of His blessing. To bring this blessing constantly to the remembrance of His chosen, the Lord appointed a representative of Himself who should publicly pronounce His blessing upon the people. He chose Aaron and He bade Moses instruct him. Aaron was not only to offer sacrifice and to make intercession, but he was to take a higher stand and bestow blessings, in the name of God, upon the assembled people. Those who are old may fitly pronounce a blessing upon their children, as Jacob did upon his 12 sons. And the minister of Christ may, in God's name, pronounce a benediction upon the people. This was the custom in early times—the congregation was dismissed with the gracious words—"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen." Our God has appointed One above all others to bless His people, even our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the antitype of Aaron and his sons and in the exercise of His high office continually blesses His people.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3371: “Two Choice Benedictions” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
IT seemed to me that as this was the last of the Thursday evenings of the dying year and I should no more meet some of you who only come here on Thursday evenings during this year, it would be well for us to close the year as our Master closed His life on earth, with a benediction—and, oh, it will be a rich enjoyment in the year to come if, by God's Grace, we shall be able to grasp and make our very own the precious things which are here presented to the whole redeemed family of the living God! I shall begin, therefore, first of all with— I. THE AARONIC BLESSING. This was pronounced at the close of the public tabernacle service when the people were about to separate, the one from the others. It is said by the Rabbis to have been only spoken at the morning sacrifice, but not in the evening because, say some, the old faith of the few gave them the early blessing. But it remained for Christ to come in the eventide of the world, at the end of time, to give us the evening blessing, the blessing of the great, eternal, evening Sacrifice. It is worthy of notice that the word, Jehovah, which is put in capital letters in our English version, occurs three times—three blessings—and each time the word has a different accent in the original Hebrew. And the Rabbis, although they did not know the meaning of it, or pretended not to know, yet all agree that there is some significant mystery therein. The word would not be accented thus differently unless there were some different shade of meaning intended. I believe we have here the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. "The Lord bless you and keep you." Is that the blessing of the Father? "The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you." Is that the blessing of the Son? "The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." Is that the blessing of the great forgiving Holy Spirit? I think it is very likely.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3371: “Two Choice Benedictions” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
IT seemed to me that as this was the last of the Thursday evenings of the dying year and I should no more meet some of you who only come here on Thursday evenings during this year, it would be well for us to close the year as our Master closed His life on earth, with a benediction—and, oh, it will be a rich enjoyment in the year to come if, by God's Grace, we shall be able to grasp and make our very own the precious things which are here presented to the whole redeemed family…
The words behind it
3 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ | yevarekha | may he bless you | H1288 → | 330 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ׃ ס | veyishmerekha | and may he keep you | H8104 → | 468 times |
יְבָרֶכְךָ֥may he bless you
yevarekhaH1288 →330 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְיִשְׁמְרֶֽךָ׃ סand may he keep you
veyishmerekhaH8104 →468 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Philippians 4:7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
it leads to
- Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
- Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.
- Psalms 29:11
The LORD gives His people strength; the LORD blesses His people with peace.
- Isaiah 26:3
Through
1 Thessalonians 5:23Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
it leads to
- Jude 1:24
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- Jude 1:24
Through
Jude 1:24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:18
And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- 2 Timothy 4:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
What the record shows
1 entry- Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrollsundisputed
Burial cave, Ketef Hinnom (Hinnom Valley shoulder), Jerusalem · Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Counterpoint: Johannes Renz and Wolfgang Röllig argued the writing was too worn to date confidently and that a Hellenistic date, centuries later, was equally possible. A 2004 re-imaging by the West Semitic Research Project reaffirmed the late-seventh to early-sixth-century date, which is now the mainstream position. Note too that the blessing on the silver is close to, but not word-for-word, Numbers 6:24-26.
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3371: Two Choice Benedictions; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2170: “The Blessing of the High Priest” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3371: “Two Choice Benedictions” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.