Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G Message"This is the rule for the Levites: from twenty-five years old and older they are to enter and begin their appointed service at the Tent of Meeting.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.G"This is what applies to the Leviyim: from twenty-five years of age and upward they shall enter to take up the work in service at the Ohel Mo'ed.
KJV
King James VersionThis is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:
BSB
Berean Standard Bible“This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
Footnotes
A significant tension exists between this passage and Numbers 4:3, 23, 30, which set the beginning of full Levitical service at *thirty* years of age. Various explanations have been proposed: the five-year gap may represent a formal apprenticeship or probationary period before assuming full duty; different clans may have had different entry ages; or the texts may reflect distinct administrative contexts. Rabbinic tradition (e.g., *b. Chullin* 24a) harmonises them by reading Numbers 4 as assignment to the heaviest carrying duties — the Ark and sanctuary furnishings — while Numbers 8 describes initial entry into service. Both FOG and FOG Message render the age faithfully at twenty-five, leaving the harmonisation to the reader.
