Numbers 18:7

Numbers 18:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
• New International Version (NIV)But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Context of Numbers 18:7

5“You are to guard the sanctuary and the altar so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again. 6Look, I have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift for you, assigned by the Lord to work at the tent of meeting. But you and your sons will carry out your priestly responsibilities for everything concerning the altar and for what is inside the curtain, and you will do that work. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but an unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary will be put to death.” 8Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Look, I have put you in charge of the contributions brought to me. As for all the holy offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute. 9A portion of the holiest offerings kept from the fire will be yours; every one of their offerings that they give me, whether the grain offering, sin offering, or guilt offering will be most holy for you and your sons.

Numbers 18:7 word by word

וְאַתָּ֣ה וּבָנֶ֣יךָ אִ֠תְּךָ תִּשְׁמְר֨וּ אֶת־כְּהֻנַּתְכֶ֜ם לְכָל־דְּבַ֧ר הַמִּזְבֵּ֛חַ וּלְמִבֵּ֥ית לַפָּרֹ֖כֶת וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֑ם עֲבֹדַ֣ת מַתָּנָ֗ה אֶתֵּן֙ אֶת־כְּהֻנַּתְכֶ֔ם וְהַזָּ֥ר הַקָּרֵ֖ב יוּמָֽת׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Therefore thou and thy sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• with thee shall keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
• your priest’s officeכְּהֻנָּהkehûnnâh · priesthoodH3550
• for every thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• of the altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• and withinבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: insideH1004
• the vailפָּרֹ֫כֶתpôreketh · curtainH6532
• and ye shall serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647
• I have givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• a serviceעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · service: ministryH5656
• of giftמַתָּנָהmattânâh · giftH4979
• and the strangerזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114
• that cometh nighקָרֵבqârêb · approachingH7131
• shall be put to deathמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for Numbers 18:7

• Numbers 18:5“You are to guard the sanctuary and the altar so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.
• Numbers 3:10You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”
• Leviticus 16:2The Lord said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place behind the curtain in front of the mercy seat on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
• Hebrews 9:3Behind the second curtain was a tent called the most holy place.
• Numbers 16:5Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to him, who is set apart, and the one he will let come near him. He will let the one he chooses come near him.
• 1 Samuel 2:28Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose your house to be my priests, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your forefather’s family all the Israelite food offerings.
• John 3:27John responded, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven.
• Romans 15:15Nevertheless, I have written to remind you more boldly on some points because of the grace given me by God
• Ephesians 3:8This grace was given to me — the least of all the saints — to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ,
• Hebrews 5:4No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was.
• Numbers 18:4They are to join you and guard the tent of meeting, doing all the work at the tent, but no unauthorized person may come near you.
• Numbers 3:38Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death.
• Numbers 16:40just as the Lord commanded him through Moses. It was to be a reminder for the Israelites that no unauthorized person outside the lineage of Aaron should approach to offer incense before the Lord and become like Korah and his followers.

Commentaries on Numbers 18:7

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7any outsider … must be put to death: This verse warned all Israelites to avoid areas where God did not allow them to be. God prohibited access to certain holy places for those not qualified in a religious sense. Only the holiest members of the community could access these holy areas. Ignoring this rule meant risking one's life because it violated God's holiness (see also 1:51, 53; 3:10, 29–38; 4:1–20).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-72-7. thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi--The departments of the sacred office, to be filled respectively by the priests and Levites, are here assigned to each. To the priests was committed the charge of the sanctuary and the altar, while the Levites were to take care of everything else about the tabernacle. The Levites were to attend the priests as servants--bestowed on them as "gifts" to aid in the service of the tabernacle--while the high and…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 18:7

• Minister, Christian
• Priest

In the dictionaries

• Curtain
• Exodus
• Agrapha
• Atonement, Day of
• Chronicles, Books of
• Criticism
• Ezekiel
• Genealogy
• Gift
• Law in the Old Testament

Commentaries on Numbers 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings