Bible Strands
Numbers 6:24
‘May the LORD bless you and keep you;
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God instructs Moses to commission Aaron and his sons to pronounce this over the Israelites. It is a fixed liturgical formula, not a spontaneous utterance.
The words — יְשׁמְרְךָ (yishmerekha), H8104, "may he keep/guard you," shares its root with shomer (watchman, keeper). The verb form is jussive: a command directed at God, not a hope.
The thread — The guarding language recurs in Psalms 121:4 ("the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep"), 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ("kept blameless"), and Philippians 4:7 ("will guard your hearts and your minds").
Why it lands — It is addressed in the second person; the reader is the object of the declaration, not its subject. It asks nothing of the recipient except to stand under it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
Cross-references
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Psalms 121:4 Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
- Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- Jude 1:24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- Isaiah 42:6 “I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,
- Psalms 91:11 For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
- Deuteronomy 28:3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
- John 17:11 I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.
- 1 Samuel 2:9 He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
- Psalms 134:3 May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.