Numbers 18:23
New International Version
It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.

New Living Translation
Only the Levites may serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation. The Levites will receive no allotment of land among the Israelites,

English Standard Version
But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Berean Standard Bible
The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.

King James Bible
But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

New King James Version
But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

New American Standard Bible
Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their own guilt; it shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

NASB 1995
“Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

NASB 1977
“Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Legacy Standard Bible
Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Amplified Bible
Only the Levites shall perform the service of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that the Levites shall have no inheritance [of land] among the children of Israel.

Christian Standard Bible
The Levites will do the work of the tent of meeting, and they will bear the consequences of their iniquity. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Levites will do the work of the tent of meeting, and they will bear the consequences of their sin. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.

American Standard Version
But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations; and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the Levites shall serve the service of the Time Tabernacle and they shall bear their evil; it is the law forever for their generations and among the sons of Israel: they shall not inherit an inheritance.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the Levite himself shall perform the service of the tabernacle of witness; and they shall bear their iniquities, it is a perpetual statute throughout their generations; and in the midst of the children of Israel they shall not receive an inheritance.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But only the sons of Levi may serve me in the tabernacle, and bear the sins of the people. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in your generations. They shall not possess any other thing,

English Revised Version
But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Only the Levites will do the work at the tent of meeting. They will be responsible for their own sins. This is a permanent law for future generations. They will own no property as the other Israelites will.

Good News Translation
From now on only the Levites will take care of the Tent and bear the full responsibility for it. This is a permanent rule that applies also to your descendants. The Levites shall have no permanent property in Israel,

International Standard Version
The descendants of Levi are to perform the service of the Tent of Meeting and they are to bear their iniquity. This is to be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that they are not to receive an inheritance among the Israelis,

JPS Tanakh 1917
But the Levites alone shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Literal Standard Version
and the Levites have done the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they bear their iniquity; [it is] a continuous statute throughout your generations that they have no inheritance in the midst of the sons of Israel;

Majority Standard Bible
The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.

New American Bible
Only the Levites are to perform the labor pertaining to the tent of meeting, and they shall incur the penalty for the Israelites’ sin; this is a permanent statute for all your generations. But they shall not have any heritage among the Israelites,

NET Bible
But the Levites must perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites have no inheritance.

New Revised Standard Version
But the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear responsibility for their own offenses; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations. But among the Israelites they shall have no allotment,

New Heart English Bible
But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations; and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Webster's Bible Translation
But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

World English Bible
But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. Among the children of Israel, they shall have no inheritance.

Young's Literal Translation
and the Levites have done the service of the tent of meeting, and they -- they bear their iniquity; a statute age-during to your generations, that in the midst of the sons of Israel they have no inheritance;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Offerings for Priests and Levites
22No longer may the Israelites come near to the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die. 23The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites. 24For I have given to the Levites as their inheritance the tithe that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.”…

Cross References
Exodus 27:21
In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites for the generations to come.

Numbers 18:1
So the LORD said to Aaron, "You and your sons and your father's house must bear the iniquity involving the sanctuary. And you and your sons alone must bear the iniquity involving your priesthood.

Numbers 18:20
Then the LORD said to Aaron, "You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.

Numbers 26:62
The registration of the Levites totaled 23,000, every male a month old or more; they were not numbered among the other Israelites, because no inheritance was given to them among the Israelites.

Ezekiel 44:10
Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who wandered away from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.


Treasury of Scripture

But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

do the service

Numbers 3:7
And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.

among

Numbers 18:20
And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

Jump to Previous
Age-During Alone Bear Children Congregation Connection Errors Everlasting Heritage Inheritance Iniquity Israel Israelites Levites Meeting Offenses Ordinance Perform Perpetual Possess Receive Responsibility Responsible Service Statute Tabernacle Tent Throughout Work
Jump to Next
Age-During Alone Bear Children Congregation Connection Errors Everlasting Heritage Inheritance Iniquity Israel Israelites Levites Meeting Offenses Ordinance Perform Perpetual Possess Receive Responsibility Responsible Service Statute Tabernacle Tent Throughout Work
Numbers 18
1. The charge of the priests and Levites
8. The priests, portion
21. The Levites,
25. The heave offering to the priests out of the Levites' portion














Verse 23. - And they shall bear (יִשְׂאוּ) their iniquity. The Levites were to take the responsibility of the general iniquity so far as approach to the tabernacle was concerned. They have no inheritance. Like the priests, they had homes and cities, and they had pasturages attached to these cities, but no separate territory.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The Levites
הַלֵּוִ֜י (hal·lê·wî)
Article | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3881: Levites -- descendant of Levi

are to perform
וְעָבַ֨ד (wə·‘ā·ḇaḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5647: To work, to serve, till, enslave

the work
עֲבֹדַת֙ (‘ă·ḇō·ḏaṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 5656: Work of any kind

of the Tent
אֹ֣הֶל (’ō·hel)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 168: A tent

of Meeting,
מוֹעֵ֔ד (mō·w·‘êḏ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4150: Appointed time, place, or meeting

and they
וְהֵ֖ם (wə·hêm)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1992: They

must bear
יִשְׂא֣וּ (yiś·’ū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

their iniquity.
עֲוֺנָ֑ם (‘ă·wō·nām)
Noun - common singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5771: Iniquity, guilt, punishment for iniquity

This is a permanent
עוֹלָם֙ (‘ō·w·lām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5769: Concealed, eternity, frequentatively, always

statute
חֻקַּ֤ת (ḥuq·qaṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 2708: Something prescribed, an enactment, statute

for the generations to come.
לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם (lə·ḏō·rō·ṯê·ḵem)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 1755: A revolution of time, an age, generation, a dwelling

The Levites will not
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

receive an inheritance
יִנְחֲל֖וּ (yin·ḥă·lū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5157: To inherit, to occupy, to bequeath, distribute, instate

among
וּבְתוֹךְ֙ (ū·ḇə·ṯō·wḵ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8432: A bisection, the centre

the Israelites.
בְּנֵ֣י (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son


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OT Law: Numbers 18:23 But the Levites shall do the service (Nu Num.)
Numbers 18:22
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