Numbers 18:4

Numbers 18:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.
• New International Version (NIV)They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting—all the work at the tent—and no one else may come near where you are.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; but an outsider shall not come near you.

Context of Numbers 18:4

2But also bring your brothers with you, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join you and serve you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3And they shall perform duties for you and the duties of the whole tent, but they shall not come near the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die. They shall join you and perform the duties of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but an unauthorized person shall not come near you. 5So you shall perform the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, so that there will no longer be wrath on the sons of Israel. 6Behold, I Myself have taken your fellow Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord, to perform the service for the tent of meeting.

Numbers 18:4 word by word

וְנִלְו֣וּ עָלֶ֔יךָ וְשָֽׁמְר֗וּ אֶת־מִשְׁמֶ֙רֶת֙ אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד לְכֹ֖ל עֲבֹדַ֣ת הָאֹ֑הֶל וְזָ֖ר לֹא־יִקְרַ֥ב אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

• They shall joinלָוָהlâvâh · to joinH3867
• you and performשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: guardH8104
• the dutiesמִשְׁמֶ֫רֶתmishmereth · chargeH4931
• of the tentאֹ֫הֶל'ôhel · tentH168
• of meetingמוֹעֵדmô‛êd mô‛êd mô‛âdâh · meetingH4150
• for allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• the serviceעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · service: ministryH5656
• an unauthorizedזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114
• shall not comeקָרַבqârab · to present: comeH7126

Cross-references for Numbers 18:4

• Numbers 1:51So when the tabernacle is to move on, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman who comes near it shall be put to death.
• Numbers 3:10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that they may keep their priesthood, but the layman who comes near shall be put to death.”
• 1 Samuel 6:19Now He fatally struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.
• 2 Samuel 6:6But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen nearly overturned it.

Commentaries on Numbers 18:4

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4A stranger - i. e. every one not a Levite. So in Numbers 18:7, it denotes each one who was not a priest: compare Numbers 3:10; Numbers 16:40.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4all the duties: See 1:47–53; 3:5–38; 4:1–33. they must not come near: The Levites could approach only after they had covered the holy objects for transport.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 18:4

• Levites
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Exodus
• Levite
• Agrapha
• Atonement, Day of
• Chronicles, Books of
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of
• Ezekiel
• Genealogy
• 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