^27:18The Lord replied²⁸ to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is such a spirit,²⁹ and lay your hand on him;³⁰^27:19set him³¹ before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission³² him publicly.³³^27:20Then you must delegate³⁴ some of your authority³⁵ to him, so that the whole community of the Israelites will be obedient.³⁶^27:21And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who³⁷ will seek counsel³⁸ for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim.³⁹ At his command⁴⁰ they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”

^27:22So Moses did as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and set⁴¹ him before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community. ^27:23He laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord commanded,⁴² by the authority⁴³ of Moses.

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Footnotes

28 Or “said.”
29 The word “spirit” probably refers to the Holy Spirit, in which case it would be rendered “in whom is the Spirit.” This would likely be a permanent endowment for Joshua. But it is also possible to take it to refer to a proper spirit to do all the things required of such a leader (which ultimately is a gift from the Spirit of God). The Hebrew text simply says “in whom is a spirit.”
30 This symbolic act would indicate the transfer of leadership to Joshua.
31 This could be translated “position him,” or “have him stand,” since it is the causative stem of the verb “to stand.”
32 The verb is the Piel perfect of צִוָּה (tsivvah, literally “to command”). The verb has a wide range of meanings, and so here in this context the idea of instructing gives way to a more general sense of commissioning for duty. The verb in sequence is equal to the imperfect of instruction.
33 Heb “in their eyes.”
34 The verb is simply “give,” but in this context giving some of Moses’ honor to Joshua in the presence of the people is essentially passing the leadership to him, or delegating the authority to him with the result that people would follow him.
35 The Greek, , and read “glory” for this form that occurs only here in the Pentateuch. Elsewhere it is rendered “majesty, splendor” (see Ps 96:6). It could even be “vitality” here. The authority being transferred here is both spiritual and civil.
36 Heb “hear.”
37 The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.
38 Heb “ask.”
39 The new leader would not have the privilege that Moses had in speaking to God face to face. Rather, he would have to inquire of the Lord through the priest, and the priest would seek a decision by means of the Urim. The Urim and the Thummim were the sacred lots that the priest had in his pouch, the “breastplate” as it has traditionally been called. Since the Law had now been fully established, there would be fewer cases that the leader would need further rulings. Now it would simply be seeking the Lord’s word for matters such as whether to advance or not. The size, shape or substance of these objects is uncertain. See further C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim.
40 Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.
41 Heb “stood.”
42 Heb “spoke.”
43 Heb “hand.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. And 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 people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”

Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Have him stand before the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and commission him in their sight. Confer some of your authority on him so that the entire Israelite community will obey him. He will stand before the priest Eleazar who will consult the Lord for him with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, even the entire community, will go out and come back in at his command.”

Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before the priest Eleazar and the entire community, laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

NLTNew Living Translation

The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.”

So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and place your hand on him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the entire community, and commission him in their sight. You will give to him from your authority so that the entire community of Israel will obey him. He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will ask for him by the decision of the Urim before Yahweh. On his command they will go out, and at his command they will come in, both he and all of the Israelites with him, the entire community.” Moses did just as Yahweh commanded him, and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before the entire community. And he placed his hands on him and commissioned him just as Yahweh spoke by the hand of Moses.

KJV 1900King James Version

And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 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. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

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