Numbers 18:5
in Numbers 18And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar; that there be wrath no more upon the children of Israel.
KJV
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.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 18
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
attend to the duties of the sanctuary
on Numbers 18:5-7
Verse 5 gives the guard's purpose, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again. The barrier protects the people outside it, and the sentence on any outsider who comes near repeats 3:10.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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 dignified office of the priesthood was a "service of gift." "A stranger," that is, one, neither a priest nor a Levite, who should intrude into any departments of the sacred office, should incur the penalty of death.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֗ם | ushemartem | and you will keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִשְׁמֶ֣רֶת | mishmeret | [the] service of | H4931 → | 78 times |
| הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ | hakodesh | the holy place | H6944 → | 469 times |
| וְאֵ֖ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִשְׁמֶ֣רֶת | mishmeret | [the] service of | H4931 → | 78 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ע֛וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| קֶ֖צֶף | ketzef | wrath | H7110 → | 29 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | towards | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֗םand you will keep
ushemartemH8104 →468 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
מִשְׁמֶ֣רֶת[the] service of
mishmeretH4931 →78 times
הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁthe holy place
hakodeshH6944 →469 times
וְאֵ֖תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מִשְׁמֶ֣רֶת[the] service of
mishmeretH4931 →78 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַthe altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִהְיֶ֥הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
ע֛וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
קֶ֖צֶףwrath
ketzefH7110 →29 times
עַל־towards
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Timothy 1:18Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight,
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 4:14
Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.
- 1 Timothy 6:20
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,”
- 2 Timothy 4:1–3
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom:
- 2 Timothy 2:1–5
You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
- 2 Corinthians 10:3–4
For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.
- 1 Timothy 4:14
Through
Numbers 16:46Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the…
it leads to
- Numbers 8:19
And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement…
- Numbers 8:19
Through
Exodus 27:21In 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…
it leads to
- Numbers 19:21
This is a permanent statute for the people: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening.
- Numbers 18:23
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…
- Numbers 19:21
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers

This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
