But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. Among the children of Israel, they shall have no inheritance.
Parallel Translations
-
But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. Among the children of Israel, they shall have no inheritance.
-
But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.
-
But the Levites alone shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Numbers 18:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 3:7 They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.
- Numbers 18:1 Yahweh said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your fathers’ house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
- Numbers 18:20 Yahweh said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain If they fail in their office, they shall be…
If they fail in their office, they shall be punished.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Their iniquity, i.e. the punishment due not only for…
Their iniquity, i.e. the punishment due not only for their own, but also for the people’s miscarriage, if it be committed through their connivance or negligence. And this was the reason why the priests withstood king Uzziah, when he would have burnt incense to the Lord, 2Ch 26:17,18.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But the tithe of the children of Israel,.... The…
But the tithe of the children of Israel,.... The tenth of the produce of their land, as before:
which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord: by way of gratitude to him for giving them the land, and for making it so fruitful to them, and as an acknowledgment of his being the sovereign Lord and proprietor of it:
Read full note →
I have given to the Levites to inherit; so that the Levites had the tithe not immediately from the Israelites, nor were they dependent on them for them; but they were first given to the Lord, and then by him to the Levites, who held them of him, and not of the Israelites; and were a portion and an inheritance, settled upon them by the Lord himself, which they had as good a right and title unto as the rest of the tribes had to their several inheritances:
therefore have I said unto them, among the children, of Israel they shall have no inheritance; as in Num 18:23.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Their iniquity - The punishment due not only for…
Their iniquity - The punishment due not only for their own, but also for the people's miscarriage, if it be committed through their connivance or negligence. And this was the reason why the priests withstood King Uzziah, when he would have burnt incense to the Lord.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 18:23. Their iniquity — The punishment due not…
Num 18:23. Their iniquity — The punishment due not only for their own, but also for the people’s miscarriage, if it be committed through their connivance or negligence. And this was the reason why the priests withstood King Uzziah, when he would have burnt incense to the Lord.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Bear their iniquity - The words probably refer to…
Bear their iniquity - The words probably refer to the iniquity of the people; who would, had they approached the tabernacle have fallen, from their proneness to transgress, into overt acts of offence. Against such a result they were, through the ministrations of the Levites, mercifully protected. Compare Num 18:1.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain People; or the Hebrew may be also, "they shall…
People; or the Hebrew may be also, "they shall bear their own iniquity." If they prove negligent in performing their duty they shall be punished; and if they do not restrain the people from approaching the tabernacle, they shall be answerable for their offence, and both shall incur death. (Calmet) --- They shall, however, save their own souls, if they have not been deficient in instructing the people, and in doing their utmost to prevent any profanation. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain But the Levites shall do the service of the…
But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: they shall bear their iniquity--They were to be responsible for the right discharge of those duties that were assigned to them, and consequently to bear the penalty that was due to negligence or carelessness in the guardianship of the holy things.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 23. Do the service of the tabernacle — The…
23. Do the service of the tabernacle — The Levites were the bearers and custodians of the tabernacle. They assisted the priests, but never sprinkled blood nor burned incense.
They shall bear their iniquity — Here is the idea of a vicarious atonement plainly expressed. The people had attempted to bear their own sins into the presence of God, and to make atonement, and the yawning earth, the fire, and the plague had swept away thousands. This was to teach them that holy persons were needful to purify the unholy by expiation. The people must be taught, at whatever cost, the difference between holy and unholy. Hence the presumptuous are consumed in the act of holding up their sins before Jehovah, a work for which Aaron and his sons had been specially consecrated. They could draw near the tabernacle as the representatives of Israel, taking upon themselves and bearing the iniquity of the congregation. Thus the need of a holy Mediator is prefigured, even Jesus Christ, “who appears in heaven for us.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And they shall bear (Wacyi) their iniquity. The Levites…
And they shall bear (Wacyi) their iniquity. The Levites were to take the responsibility of the general iniquity so far as approach to the tabernacle was concerned. They have no inheritance. Like the priests, they had homes and cities, and they had pasturages attached to these cities, but no separate territory.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
God continues speaking to Aaron.
Read full note →
Among the people of Israel they must have no inheritance
God speaks of the land that the other people of Israel will possess as if they will inherit it. The Levites would not receive any of the land. AT: "they must not have any of the land that the other people of Israel receive" (See: Metaphor)
as their inheritance
God speaks of what Aaron and his descendants will receive as if they will inherit it. AT: "as their portion of what I give to all Israel" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
law, laws
generation
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 18:23-24 The Israelites’ tithes were one tenth of the…
18:23-24 The Israelites’ tithes were one tenth of the year’s production of goods (see Deut 14:22-29; 26:12; Neh 10:35-39; Mal 3:8-12; Matt 23:23; cp. Gen 14:17-20; Heb 7:5-10).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.