New English Translation
Numbers 18:7
7But you and your sons with you are responsible for your priestly duties, for everything at the altar and within the curtain. And you must serve. I give you the priesthood as a gift for service; but the unauthorized person who approaches must be put to death.”
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
5You will be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the care of the altar, so that there will be no more wrath on the Israelites. 6I myself have chosen your brothers the Levites from among the Israelites. They are given to you as a gift from the Lord, to perform the duties of the tent of meeting. But you and your sons with you are responsible for your priestly duties, for everything at the altar and within the curtain. And you must serve. I give you the priesthood as a gift for service; but the unauthorized person who approaches must be put to death.” 8The Lord spoke to Aaron, “See, I have given you the responsibility for my raised offerings; I have given all the holy things of the Israelites to you as your priestly portion and to your sons as a perpetual ordinance. 9Of all the most holy offerings reserved from the fire this will be yours: Every offering of theirs, whether from every grain offering or from every purification offering or from every reparation offering which they bring to me, will be most holy for you and for your sons.
Read all of Numbers 18Numbers 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 18:5You will be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the care of the altar, so that there will be no more wrath on the Israelites.
- Numbers 3:10So you are to appoint Aaron and his sons, and they will be responsible for their priesthood; but the unauthorized person who comes near must be put to death.”
- Leviticus 16:2and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil-canopy in front of the atonement plate that is on the ark so that he may not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement plate.
- Hebrews 9:3And after the second curtain there was a tent called the holy of holies.
- Numbers 16:5Then he said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning the Lord will make known who are his, and who is holy. He will cause that person to approach him; the person he has chosen he will cause to approach him.
- 1 Samuel 2:28I chose your ancestor from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor’s house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites.
- John 3:27John replied, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven.
- Romans 15:15But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God
- Ephesians 3:8To me – less than the least of all the saints – this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ
- Hebrews 5:4And no one assumes this honor on his own initiative, but only when called to it by God, as in fact Aaron was.
- Numbers 18:4They must join with you, and they will be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent, but no unauthorized person may approach you.
- Numbers 3:38But those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons. They were responsible for the needs of the sanctuary and for the needs of the Israelites, but the unauthorized person who approached was to be put to death.
- Numbers 16:40It was a memorial for the Israelites, that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to burn incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his company – just as the Lord had spoken by the authority of Moses.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries