Numbers 18:8-9

The Portion of the Priests

18:8 The Lord spoke to Aaron, “See, I have given you the responsibility for my raised offerings; I have given all the holy things of the Israelites to you as your priestly portion ¹  and to your sons as a perpetual ordinance. 18:9 Of all the most holy offerings reserved ²  from the fire this will be yours: Every offering of theirs, whether from every grain offering or from every purification offering or from every reparation offering which they bring to me, will be most holy for you and for your sons.

Joshua 13:14

13:14 However, Moses ³  did not assign land as an inheritance ⁴  to the Levites; their inheritance ⁵  is the sacrificial offerings ⁶  made to the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed ⁷  them.

Joshua 13:1

The Lord Speaks to Joshua

13:1 When Joshua was very old, ⁸  the Lord told him, “You are very old, and a great deal of land remains to be conquered.

Colossians 1:13-14

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ⁹  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ¹⁰  the forgiveness of sins.

¹ tn This is an uncommon root. It may be connected to the word “anoint” as here (see RSV). But it may also be seen as an intended parallel to “perpetual due” (see Gen 47:22; Exod 29:28; Lev 6:11 [HT]).

² tn Heb “from the fire.” It probably refers to those parts that were not burned.

³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “did not assign an inheritance.”

⁵ tn That is, “their source of food and life.”

⁶ tn Or “offerings made by fire.”

⁷ tn Or “promised” (Heb “spoke”).

⁸ tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following clause.

⁹ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

¹⁰ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.