Numbers 27:21

¹⁹ Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and commission him in their sight.

²⁰ Confer on him some of your authority, so that the whole congregation of Israel will obey him.

He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.”

²² Moses did as the LORD had commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation,

²³ and laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the LORD had instructed through Moses.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.”
KJV: 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.
WEB: He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”
ASV: And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before Jehovah: 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.
DARBY: And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him, by the judgment of the Urim before Jehovah: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, he, and all the children of Israel with him, even the whole assembly.
BLB: And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, and he shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the face of YHWH. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in—he and all the sons of Israel with him—and all the congregation.”

ÅB: Og han skal stå fram for Eleasar, presten, og Eleasar skal for Herrens åsyn søke urims dom for ham; etter hans ord skal de gå ut, og etter hans ord skal de gå inn, han selv med alle Israels barn og hele menigheten.
OTB: Han skal stå foran Eleasar presten, som vil spørre for ham ved hjelp av Urims avgjørelse for Herren. På hans befaling skal de gå ut, og på hans befaling skal de komme inn, både han og hele menigheten av israelittene.”
B1930: Og han skal stå frem for Eleasar, presten, og Eleasar skal for Herrens åsyn søke urims dom for ham; efter hans ord skal de gå ut, og efter hans ord skal de gå inn, han selv med alle Israels barn og hele menigheten.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

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.
Read in context
Joshua 9:14
Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions, but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.
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1 Samuel 28:6
He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
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Judges 1:1
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”
Read in context
Judges 20:18
The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the LORD replied.
Read in context
Judges 20:23
They went up and wept before the LORD until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?” And the LORD answered, “Go up against them.”
Read in context
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.
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Deuteronomy 33:8
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.
Read in context