Deuteronomy 33:8
New International Version
About Levi he said: “Your Thummim and Urim belong to your faithful servant. You tested him at Massah; you contended with him at the waters of Meribah.

New Living Translation
Moses said this about the tribe of Levi: “O LORD, you have given your Thummim and Urim—the sacred lots— to your faithful servants the Levites. You put them to the test at Massah and struggled with them at the waters of Meribah.

English Standard Version
And of Levi he said, “Give to Levi your Thummim, and your Urim to your godly one, whom you tested at Massah, with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah;

Berean Standard Bible
Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah.

King James Bible
And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

New King James Version
And of Levi he said: “Let Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one, Whom You tested at Massah, And with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah,

New American Standard Bible
Of Levi he said, “Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man, Whom You tested at Massah, With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;

NASB 1995
Of Levi he said, “Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man, Whom You proved at Massah, With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;

NASB 1977
And of Levi he said, “Let Thy Thummim and Thy Urim belong to Thy godly man, Whom Thou didst prove at Massah, With whom Thou didst contend at the waters of Meribah;

Legacy Standard Bible
Of Levi he said, “Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your holy one, Whom You tested at Massah, With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;

Amplified Bible
Of Levi he said, “Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man [Aaron], Whom You tested and proved at Massah, With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;

Christian Standard Bible
He said about Levi: Your Thummim and Urim belong to your faithful one; you tested him at Massah and contended with him at the Waters of Meribah.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He said about Levi: Your Thummim and Urim belong to Your faithful one; You tested him at Massah and contended with him at the waters of Meribah.

American Standard Version
And of Levi he said, Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with thy godly one, Whom thou didst prove at Massah, With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And to Levi he said: “Your perfection and your light belong to the Holy Man whom you tested in the trials and you tested him at the waters of Metsutha—contention;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And to Levi he said, Give to Levi his manifestations, and his truth to the holy man, whom they tempted in the temptation; they reviled him at the water of strife.

Contemporary English Version
At Massah and Meribah Spring, the LORD tested you, tribe of Levi. You were faithful, and so the priesthood belongs to the Levi tribe.

Douay-Rheims Bible
To Levi also he said: Thy perfection, and thy doctrine be to thy holy man, whom thou hast proved in the temptation, and judged at the waters of contradiction :

English Revised Version
And of Levi he said, Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with thy godly one, Whom thou didst prove at Massah, With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
About the tribe of [Levi]he said, "Your Thummim and Urim belong to your faithful people. You tested your people at Massah. You quarreled with them at the oasis of Meribah.

Good News Translation
About the tribe of Levi he said: "You, LORD, reveal your will by the Urim and Thummim Through your faithful servants, the Levites; You put them to the test at Massah And proved them true at the waters of Meribah.

International Standard Version
About Levi he said: "Let your Thummim and Urim be with the man to whom you showed gracious love, whom you tested at Massah and with whom you struggled at the waters of Meribah,

JPS Tanakh 1917
And of Levi he said: Thy Thummim and Thy Urim be with Thy holy one, Whom Thou didst prove at Massah, With whom Thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

Literal Standard Version
And of Levi he said: Your Perfections and your Lights [are] for your pious one, | Whom You have tried in Massah, | You strive with him at the waters of Meribah;

Majority Standard Bible
Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah.

New American Bible
Of Levi he said: Give to Levi your Thummim, your Urim to your faithful one; Him you tested at Massah, contended against him at the waters of Meribah.

NET Bible
Of Levi he said: Your Thummim and Urim belong to your godly one, whose authority you challenged at Massah, and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah.

New Revised Standard Version
And of Levi he said: Give to Levi your Thummim, and your Urim to your loyal one, whom you tested at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah;

New Heart English Bible
Of Levi he said, "Give to Levi your Thummim and your Urim to your faithful one, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you strove at the waters of Meribah;

Webster's Bible Translation
And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

World English Bible
About Levi he said, “Your Thummim and your Urim are with your godly one, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah.

Young's Literal Translation
And of Levi he said: -- Thy Thummim and thy Urim are for thy pious one, Whom Thou hast tried in Massah, Thou dost strive with Him at the waters of Meribah;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Moses Blesses the Twelve Tribes
7And concerning Judah he said: “O LORD, hear the cry of Judah and bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause, but may You be a help against his foes.” 8Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah. 9He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.…

Cross References
Exodus 17:7
He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

Exodus 28:30
And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron's heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD.

Leviticus 8:8
Then he put the breastpiece on him and placed the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece.

Numbers 20:13
These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them.

Numbers 20:24
"Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will not enter the land that I have given the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah.

Deuteronomy 6:16
Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah.

Nehemiah 7:65
The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.


Treasury of Scripture

And of Levi he said, Let your Thummim and your Urim be with your holy one, whom you did prove at Massah, and with whom you did strive at the waters of Meribah;

Let thy

Exodus 28:30,36
And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually…

Leviticus 8:8
And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.

Numbers 27:21
And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.

with thy

Leviticus 21:7
They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.

Numbers 16:5
And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

2 Chronicles 23:6
But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.

prove at

Deuteronomy 8:2,3,16
And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no…

Exodus 17:7
And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

Numbers 20:13
This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.

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Angry Belong Contended Holy Levi Massah Meribah Mer'ibah Pious Prove Proved Strive Strove Test Tested Thummim Tried Urim Waters
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Angry Belong Contended Holy Levi Massah Meribah Mer'ibah Pious Prove Proved Strive Strove Test Tested Thummim Tried Urim Waters
Deuteronomy 33
1. The majesty of God
6. The blessings of the twelve tribes
26. The excellence of Israel














(8) And of Levi.--Next to Joseph, this tribe has the largest share in Moses' last words, as we might naturally expect, it being his own tribe. The character of the priest is the principal subject. The blessing may be thus paraphrased: "Let thy Thummim and thy Urim (the chief high-priestly ornaments) be ever with some saintly man of thine, like him whom thou (Israel) didst tempt in Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah (Moses' own departed brother Aaron is alluded to, for the people murmured against them both in both places), like him (Eleazar or Phinehas) who said to his father and to his mother, 'I have not seen him,' &c. These are the priests that shall teach Jacob thy judgments and Israel thy law." The conduct of the tribe of Levi at Sinai is alluded to, when they stood by Moses and slew the idolaters. Who headed them on that occasion we are not told. Eleazar or Phinehas may be intended. The conduct of Phinehas (in Numbers 25) is also a case in point. As Rashi observes, "his father and his mother, his brethren and children" cannot be taken literally, because the tribe of Levi on the whole was faithful. The fathers, mothers, brethren, and children chiefly belonged to the other tribes.

Let thy Thummim and thy Urim.--See Exodus 28:30. "Thy Thummim and thy Urim" may refer to Israel, or to Levi, or to Jehovah Himself. In the last case, He must be thought to have tried Levi at Massah, and striven with Moses and Aaron at the waters of Meribah. It is not at all easy to distribute the pronouns with certainty in this speech.

If the writer of Deuteronomy was unconscious of any difference between priest and Levite, how is the mention of Urim and Thummim to be explained?

Verses 8-11. - The blessing on Levi is also in the form of a prayer. In Jacob's blessing, Simeon is joined with Levi, but Moses passes him over altogether, probably because, as Jacob foretold, he was to be scattered among his brethren (Genesis 49:7), and so lose his tribal individuality. Simeon, however, is included in the general blessing pronounced on Israel; and as this tribe received a number of towns within the territory of Judah (Joshua 19:2-9), it was probably regarded as included in the blessing on that tribe. Thy Thummim and thy Urim; thy Right and thy Light (cf. Exodus 28:30). The high priest wore the breast-plate on which these were placed when he went in before the Lord; and this is here represented as the prerogative of the whole tribe. Thy holy one; i.e. Levi, the tribe-father, representing the whole tribe to which the blessing applies; hence in the following verses the verb passes into the plural. For "holy one," it would be better to read "pious" or "godly one;" literally, the man thy pious one. Some would render "the man thy favored one," or "the man of thy friendship;" but this is wholly arbitrary, the word (חָסִיד) has no such meaning. To explain this more particularly, reference is made to the trials at Massah and the waters of Meribah (strife), when the people rebelled and murmured against Moses and Aaron, whereby the piety of these men was put to the test, and in them, the heads of the tribe of Levi, the whole tribe was proved. (On Massah, see Exodus 17:1-7; and on the waters of strife, see Numbers 20:1-13.) In these trials, Levi had proved himself faithful and godly, having risen up in defense of the honor of Jehovah, and in support of his covenant, though in the latter case both Moses and Aaron stumbled. Who said unto his father and to his mother, etc. This refers to what is narrated in Exodus 32:26-29, when the Levites drew their swords against their brethren at the command of Moses, to execute judgment without respect of person, because of the sin of the people in the matter of the golden calf (cf. also Numbers 25:8, and, for the principle here implicitly commended, see Matthew 10:37; Matthew 19:29; Luke 14:26). Because of their zealous devotion to the claims and service of the Lord, the dignity of the priesthood had been conferred on this tribe; and to them belonged the high office of being instructors of the people in Divine things, and of presenting the sacrifices of the people to the Lord. For those entrusted with such an office, nothing was more to be desired than that they should be blessed with power rightly to discharge the duties of their office, that their service should be accepted with favor, and that their enemies and haters should be foiled and rendered impotent; and for this Moses prays on their behalf.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Concerning Levi
וּלְלֵוִ֣י (ū·lə·lê·wî)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3878: Levi -- a son of Jacob, also the tribe descended from him

he said:
אָמַ֔ר (’ā·mar)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“[Give] Your Thummim [to Levi]
תֻּמֶּ֥יךָ (tum·me·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 8550: Perfections

and Your Urim
וְאוּרֶ֖יךָ (wə·’ū·re·ḵā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 224: Part of the high priest's breastplate

to Your godly
חֲסִידֶ֑ךָ (ḥă·sî·ḏe·ḵā)
Adjective - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 2623: Kind, pious

one,
לְאִ֣ישׁ (lə·’îš)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

whom
אֲשֶׁ֤ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

You tested
נִסִּיתוֹ֙ (nis·sî·ṯōw)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - second person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5254: To test, to attempt

at Massah
בְּמַסָּ֔ה (bə·mas·sāh)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4532: Massah -- a place in the desert where Israelites rebelled

and contested
תְּרִיבֵ֖הוּ (tə·rî·ḇê·hū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7378: To toss, grapple, to wrangle, controversy, to defend

at
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the waters
מֵ֥י (mê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

of Meribah.
מְרִיבָֽה׃ (mə·rî·ḇāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4809: Meribah -- 'place of strife', two places in the desert


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 33:8 Of Levi he said Your Thummim (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 33:7
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