Numbers 4:18
New International Version
“See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites.

New Living Translation
“Do not let the Kohathite clans be destroyed from among the Levites!

English Standard Version
“Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites,

Berean Standard Bible
“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites.

King James Bible
Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

New King James Version
“Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;

New American Standard Bible
“Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be eliminated from among the Levites.

NASB 1995
“Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites.

NASB 1977
“Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites.

Amplified Bible
“Do not cut off (eliminate, destroy) the tribe of the families of the Kohathites [who are only Levites and not priests], from among the Levites [by exposing them to the sin of touching the most holy things].

Christian Standard Bible
“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites.

American Standard Version
Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“You shall not destroy the tribe of the family of Qahath from within the Levites.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Ye shall not destroy the family of Caath from the tribe out of the midst of the Levites.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Destroy not the people of Caath from the midst of the Levites:

English Revised Version
Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Don't let the Kohathite families from Levi's tribe be destroyed.

Good News Translation
"Do not let the clan of Kohath

International Standard Version
"You are not to eliminate the tribe of the families of the descendants of Kohath from the descendants of Levi.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;

Literal Standard Version
“You do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathite from the midst of the Levites;

Majority Standard Bible
“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites.

New American Bible
Do not let the group of Kohathite clans perish from among the Levites.

NET Bible
"Do not allow the tribe of the families of the Kohathites to be cut off from among the Levites;

New Revised Standard Version
You must not let the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites.

New Heart English Bible
"Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;

Webster's Bible Translation
Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

World English Bible
“Don’t cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;

Young's Literal Translation
'Ye do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathite from the midst of the Levites;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Duties of the Kohathites
17Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 18“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites. 19In order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry.…

Cross References
Numbers 3:27
From Kohath came the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites.

Numbers 4:17
Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

Numbers 4:19
In order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry.


Treasury of Scripture

Cut you not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

Numbers 16:32
And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

Numbers 17:10
And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.

Numbers 18:5
And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.

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Clans Cut Destroyed Families Family Kohathite Kohathites Ko'hathites Levites Midst Tribal Tribe
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Clans Cut Destroyed Families Family Kohathite Kohathites Ko'hathites Levites Midst Tribal Tribe
Numbers 4
1. The age at which the Levites were to serve, and the duration of the service
4. The duty of the Kohathites
16. The charge of Eleazar
17. The office of the priests
21. The duty of the Gershonites
29. Of the Merarites
34. The number of the Kohathites
38. Of the Gershonites
42. And of the Merarites














(18) Cut ye not off the tribe . . . --The word shebet (tribe) is here used in a very peculiar sense, and denotes one division only of the tribe of Levi. In this and the following verses the injunction already given (Numbers 5:15) is renewed, and Moses and Aaron are charged not to be guilty of such negligence in respect of it as might expose the Kohathites to death in consequence of their unlawful treatment of the holy things. Moses and Aaron might be said to do that which would be the result of their negligence. In like manner St. Paul enjoins the Roman Christians in these words: "Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died" (Romans 14:15).

Verse 18. - Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites. The word tribe (shebet) is used in an unusual way here, not in the sense of tribus, but of stirps. Perhaps as Levi was himself a microcosm of all Israel, so his families ranked as tribes; and no doubt they remained more distinct than the families of any other tribe. The meaning of the command is plainly this, "Take care that the Kohathites are not cut off through any negligence or want of consideration on your part; and the form of the command, "cut ye not off," conveyed most emphatically the warning, that if any mischief befell the Kohathites which the priests could have prevented, they would be responsible for it in the sight of God. No doubt, as a fact, the Kohathites would take their cue from the conduct of the priests: if they were irreverent and careless, the Levites would be the same, and would sooner or later presume, and, presuming, would die.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Do not
אַל־ (’al-)
Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

allow the Kohathite
הַקְּהָתִ֑י (haq·qə·hā·ṯî)
Article | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6956: Kohathites -- descendant of Kohath

tribal
שֵׁ֖בֶט (šê·ḇeṭ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7626: Rod, staff, club, scepter, tribe

clans
מִשְׁפְּחֹ֣ת (miš·pə·ḥōṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 4940: A family, circle of relatives, a class, a species, sort, a tribe, people

to be cut off
תַּכְרִ֕יתוּ (taḵ·rî·ṯū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 3772: To cut, to destroy, consume, to covenant

from among
מִתּ֖וֹךְ (mit·tō·wḵ)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8432: A bisection, the centre

the Levites.
הַלְוִיִּֽם׃ (hal·wî·yim)
Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 3881: Levites -- descendant of Levi


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OT Law: Numbers 4:18 Don't cut off the tribe (Nu Num.)
Numbers 4:17
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