Lectionary Calendar
Monday, August 11th, 2025
the Week of Proper 14 / Ordinary 19
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Read the Bible

New Living Translation

Numbers 18:4

The Levites must join you in fulfilling their responsibilities for the care and maintenance of the Tabernacle, but no unauthorized person may assist you.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Levites;   Minister, Christian;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Tabernacle;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Levites;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Tabernacle;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Priest, Christ as;   Priest, Priesthood;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Levite;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Levites;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Covenant;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Aaron's Rod;   Levi;   Numbers, Book of;   Priests and Levites;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Levites;   Minister, Ministration;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Levites ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Covenant;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Melchizedek;   Priesthood, the;   Peculiarities of the Law of Moses;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Genealogy;   Levi (2);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Aaron;   Abiram;   Commandments, the 613;   Judah;   Levi;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
They shall be joined to you, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the Tent: and a stranger shall not come near to you.
King James Version
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.
Lexham English Bible
They will be joined to you, and they will keep the responsibility of the tent of assembly for the entire service of the tent; a stranger may not come near you.
New Century Version
They will join you in taking care of the Meeting Tent. They must do the work at the Tent, and no one else may come near you.
New English Translation
They 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.
Amplified Bible
"They shall join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting—all the service of the tent—and no stranger [no layman, anyone who is not a Levite] may approach you [and your sons].
New American Standard Bible
"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.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And they shalbe ioyned with thee, & keepe the charge of the Tabernacle of the Congregation for all the seruice of the Tabernacle: and no stranger shal come neere vnto you:
Legacy Standard Bible
And they shall be joined with you and keep the responsibility of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but an outsider may not come near you.
Contemporary English Version
No one else is allowed to take care of the sacred tent or to do anything connected with it.
Complete Jewish Bible
They will work together with you in your duties related to the tent of meeting, whatever the service in the tent may be; but an unauthorized person is not to come near you.
Darby Translation
And they shall unite with thee, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; and no stranger shall come near to you.
Easy-to-Read Version
They will join you and work with you. They will be responsible for caring for the Meeting Tent. All the work that must be done in the Tent will be done by them. No one else may come near the place where you are.
English Standard Version
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.
George Lamsa Translation
And they shall accompany you, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation for all the service of the tabernacle; and a stranger shall not come near you.
Good News Translation
They are to work with you and fulfill their responsibilities for all the service in the Tent, but no unqualified person may work with you.
Christian Standard Bible®
They 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.
Literal Translation
And they shall be joined to you, and shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle, and a foreigner shall not go near to you.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
howbeit they shal be ioyned vnto the, to wayte vpo the mynistracion in the Tabernacle of witnesse, in all the seruice of the Tabernacle. And there shal no straunger come nye vnto you.
American Standard Version
And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the Tent: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.
Bible in Basic English
They are to be joined with you in the care of the Tent of meeting, doing whatever is needed for the Tent: and no one of any other family may come near you.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they shalbe ioyned with thee, and kepe the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation for all the seruice of the tabernacle: and let no straunger come nye vnto you.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, whatsoever the service of the Tent may be; but a common man shall not draw nigh unto you.
King James Version (1611)
And they shall bee ioyned vnto thee, and keepe the charge of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, for all the seruice of the Tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh vnto you.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they shall be joined to thee, and shall keep the charges of the tabernacle of witness, in all the services of the tabernacle; and a stranger shall not approach to thee.
English Revised Version
And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the Tent: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.
Berean Standard Bible
They are to join you and attend to the obligations of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work at the Tent; but no outsider may come near you.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe be thei with thee, and wake thei in the kepyngis of the tabernacle, and in alle the cerymonyes therof. An alien schal not be meddlid with you.
Young's Literal Translation
and they have been joined unto thee, and have kept the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; and a stranger doth not come near unto you;
Update Bible Version
And they shall be joined to you, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the Tent: and a stranger shall not come near to you.
Webster's Bible Translation
And they shall be joined to 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 to you.
World English Bible
They shall be joined to you, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the Tent: and a stranger shall not come near to you.
New King James Version
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.
New Life Bible
They will join you and help do all the work of the meeting tent. But no one else may come near you.
New Revised Standard
They are attached to you in order to perform the duties of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; no outsider shall approach you.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So shall they be joined unto thee, and shall keep the charge of the tent of meeting, as to all the laborious work of the tent, - but a stranger, shall not come near unto you.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But let them be with thee, and watch in the charge of the tabernacle, and in all the ceremonies thereof. A stranger shall not join himself with you.
Revised Standard Version
They shall join you, and attend to the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; and no one else shall come near you.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"They shall be joined with you and attend to the obligations of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but an outsider may not come near you.

Contextual Overview

1 Then the Lord said to Aaron: "You, your sons, and your relatives from the tribe of Levi will be held responsible for any offenses related to the sanctuary. But you and your sons alone will be held responsible for violations connected with the priesthood. 2 "Bring your relatives of the tribe of Levi—your ancestral tribe—to assist you and your sons as you perform the sacred duties in front of the Tabernacle of the Covenant. 3 But as the Levites go about all their assigned duties at the Tabernacle, they must be careful not to go near any of the sacred objects or the altar. If they do, both you and they will die. 4 The Levites must join you in fulfilling their responsibilities for the care and maintenance of the Tabernacle, but no unauthorized person may assist you. 5 "You yourselves must perform the sacred duties inside the sanctuary and at the altar. If you follow these instructions, the Lord 's anger will never again blaze against the people of Israel. 6 I myself have chosen your fellow Levites from among the Israelites to be your special assistants. They are a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord for service in the Tabernacle. 7 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."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a stranger: Numbers 1:51, Numbers 3:10, 1 Samuel 6:19, 2 Samuel 6:6, 2 Samuel 6:7

Reciprocal: Exodus 29:33 - a stranger Numbers 8:26 - to keep Numbers 16:40 - that no Numbers 17:13 - Whosoever Numbers 18:2 - joined unto thee Numbers 18:7 - the stranger 2 Kings 16:12 - offered thereon Isaiah 56:3 - the son Ezekiel 44:14 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 18:5
And since you've honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey." "All right," they said. "Do as you have said."
Genesis 18:15
Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, "I didn't laugh." But the Lord said, "No, you did laugh."
Genesis 19:2
"My lords," he said, "come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again." "Oh no," they replied. "We'll just spend the night out here in the city square."
Genesis 24:32
So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw for their bedding, fed them, and provided water for the man and the camel drivers to wash their feet.
Genesis 43:24
The manager then led the men into Joseph's palace. He gave them water to wash their feet and provided food for their donkeys.
1 Samuel 25:41
She bowed low to the ground and responded, "I, your servant, would be happy to marry David. I would even be willing to become a slave, washing the feet of his servants!"
Luke 7:44
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn't offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
1 Timothy 5:10
She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers and served other believers humbly? Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they shall be joined unto thee,.... As assistants in the sacred service:

and keep the charge of tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle; :- and

:-;

and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you; not any of the other tribes, only such as were of the tribe of Levi; they only were to be brought with them, and joined unto them, and assist them, and minister to them, as in Numbers 18:2; though the Jews h understand by a stranger anyone that was not a priest.

h Maimon. in Misn. Zebachim, c. 2. sect. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A 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.


 
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