And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the people of Israel: New Revised Standard Version renders this clause more accurately by saying “and Aaron shall present the Levites before the LORD as an elevation offering from the Israelites,” but some sort of motion of waving up and down several times may have been involved as well. For the Hebrew expression rendered offer … as a wave offering, see the comments on 6.20, where it is translated “wave … for a wave offering.” But here this expression seems more figurative (so Levine, page 276), since it is difficult to conceive how Aaron could have elevated the Levites. In any case, referring to the Levites as a wave offering means they were given to the LORD. Good News Translation indicates the function of this offering by rendering this clause as “and then Aaron shall dedicate the Levites to me as a special gift from the Israelites.” Revised Standard Version focuses more on its form by using the word wave. Perhaps it is possible to include both its form and function in a natural way in the target language.

That it may be theirs to do the service of the LORD: Aaron must dedicate the Levites to the LORD, so that they do the LORD’s work. The pronoun theirs refers to the Levites. Do the service renders the Hebrew verb ʿabad and the noun ʿabodah, which come from the same root (see the comments on 3.7). The Hebrew word for service may be rendered “task” or “responsibility.” Since the LORD is speaking, Good News Translation says “my work” instead of the service of the LORD. Possible models for this whole clause are “so that they may perform my work” and “so that they may carry out tasks for me.”

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 .