Numbers 3:10

Numbers 3:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
• New International Version (NIV)Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Context of Numbers 3:10

8They must work on behalf of the Israelites. They must take care of the things that are in the Tent of Meeting. That is how they will serve God. 9Give the Levites to Aaron and to his descendants. They will be the Israelites who help him. They do not have to do anything else. But you must make a list of Aaron and his descendants. They will be the priests. If any other person comes near to the special Tent, they must die.’ 11The Lord also said to Moses, 12‘I will not take the firstborn son of every woman in Israel to belong to me. I will take the Levites instead of them.

Numbers 3:10 word by word

וְאֶת־אַהֲרֹ֤ן וְאֶת־בָּנָיו֙ תִּפְקֹ֔ד וְשָׁמְר֖וּ אֶת־כְּהֻנָּתָ֑ם וְהַזָּ֥ר הַקָּרֵ֖ב יוּמָֽת׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And thou shalt appointפָּקַדpâqad · to reckon: overseerH6485
• Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• and his sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• and they shall wait onשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
• their priest’s officeכְּהֻנָּהkehûnnâh · priesthoodH3550
• and the strangerזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114
• that cometh nighקָרֵבqârêb · approachingH7131
• shall be put to deathמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for Numbers 3:10

• Numbers 18:7But only you, Aaron, and your sons will serve me as priests. You will work at the altar and in the Holy Place behind the curtain. I have chosen you to serve me as my priests. That is my gift to you. Any other person who comes near the Holy Place must die.’
• 1 Chronicles 6:32They used music to serve the Lord in his special tent where he met with his people. After King Solomon built the Lord's temple in Jerusalem, they served the Lord there. They obeyed the rules that told them how to do their work.
• Ezekiel 44:8You did not take care of my holy things yourselves. Instead you chose foreigners to take care of my holy place on your behalf.
• Acts 6:3So, friends, please choose seven men from among you. You must know that each of them is full of the Holy Spirit. They must also be very wise. We will ask these seven men to do this work for us.
• Romans 12:7God helps some people to serve others. They should do that well. God helps some people to be able to teach others. Those people should teach well.
• 1 Timothy 4:15Be careful to do all these things well. Then everyone will see that you are serving God better and better.
• Numbers 3:38Moses, Aaron and Aaron's sons had to put up their tents in front of the tabernacle, on the east side. They were the only people who could go into the Holy Place in the Tent. Any other person who went near it had to die.
• Numbers 1:51When the people move to another place, the Levites must pack the Tent. When the people arrive at a new place, the Levites must put the Tent up again. If any other person, not a Levite, comes near to the special Tent, they must die.
• Numbers 16:35Then the Lord sent fire down. It killed the 250 men who were offering the incense to God.
• Numbers 18:3They must take care of the Tent of Meeting on your behalf. You must tell them what they should do. They must not go near anything that is inside God's Holy Place or the altar. If they do, they will die, and you will die too.
• 1 Samuel 6:19But some of the men from Beth Shemesh looked inside the Lord's Covenant Box. So God killed 70 of them. The people were very sad because the Lord had punished them so much.
• 2 Samuel 6:7The Lord was very angry with Uzzah because he did not respect God's rules. He immediately knocked Uzzah down to the ground. Uzzah died there, beside the Covenant Box.
• 2 Chronicles 26:16Uzziah was so powerful that he became proud. That caused him to lose his power. He began to turn away from the Lord his God. He went into the Lord's temple to burn incense on the special altar there.
• Ephesians 2:19So now, you Gentiles are not strangers among God's people any more. You belong to the group of God's people that he rules. You belong to God's family, as all God's people do.
• Hebrews 3:4Every house has someone who built it. But God is the one who has built all things.
• Hebrews 10:19So then, Christian friends, we see that Jesus died as a sacrifice on our behalf. Because of that, we may go into God's Most Holy Place. We are not afraid to do that.

Commentaries on Numbers 3:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Aaron and his sons - shall wait on their priest's office - It was the business of the priests to offer the different sacrifices to God; to consecrate the shew-bread, pour out the libations, burn the incense, sprinkle the blood of the victims, and bless the people. In a word, they were the servants of God alone.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10The sanctuary was set apart for God’s holy use (Numbers 1:51; 3:38; 18:7). Only qualified people could approach it (compare 3:4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-105-10. Bring the tribe of Levi near--The Hebrew word "bring near" is a sacrificial term, denoting the presentation of an offering to God; and the use of the word, therefore, in connection with the Levites, signifies that they were devoted as an offering to the sanctuary, no longer to be employed in any common offices. They were subordinate to the priests, who alone enjoyed the privilege of entering the holy place; but they were employed in discharging many…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 3:10

• Levites
• Minister, Christian
• Priest
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Aaron
• Annas
• Chief
• Conclude
• Custody
• Encamp
• High priest
• O
• Secure
• Seek

Commentaries on Numbers 3

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings