Verses 6-8 are composed in an elevated rhetorical style. Some scholars and versions consider these three verses to be poetry and format the text accordingly (so New International Version, Revised English Bible). The LORD’s words in verses 6b-8a form a chiasmus, with an emphasis on the center of the structure where Moses is named, as follows (based on Sherwood, page 156):

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .