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 Living Translation (NLT)But you and your sons, the priests, must personally handle all the priestly rituals associated with the altar and with everything behind the inner curtain. I am giving you the priesthood as your special privilege of service. Any unauthorized person who comes too near the sanctuary will be put to death.”

Context of Numbers 18:7

5And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. 6Behold, I Myself have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 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.” 8And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, I Myself have also given you charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. 9This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering and every sin offering and every trespass offering which they render to Me, shall 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 18:5And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel.
• Numbers 3:10So 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.”
• Leviticus 16:2and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
• Hebrews 9:3and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,
• Numbers 16:5and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him.
• 1 Samuel 2:28Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?
• John 3:27John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.
• Romans 15:15Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God,
• Ephesians 3:8To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
• Hebrews 5:4And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.
• Numbers 18:4They 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.
• Numbers 3:38Moreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, keeping charge of the sanctuary, to meet the needs of the children of Israel; but the outsider who came near was to be put to death.
• Numbers 16:40to be a memorial to the children of Israel that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the Lord had said to him through 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

• 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