Bible Strands
Numbers 18:5
And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Aaron directly regarding the assigned duties of the Levites who serve alongside him in the Tent of Meeting.
The words — The verb שְמַרְתֶּם (shemar.tem) literally means “you will keep” or “guard,” while the noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret) denotes the specific “service” or “duty” performed.
The thread — The text links sanctuary maintenance to divine protection, echoing the lamp-tending commands in Exodus 27:21 and Leviticus 24:3, and the altar-based atonement in Numbers 16:46.
Why it lands — The verse states that strict observance of sanctuary and altar duties prevents God’s wrath from striking the Israelites, requiring the reader to recognize that ritual fidelity functions as a boundary against judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
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.
- Leviticus 24:3 Outside the veil of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps continually before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come.
- Numbers 16:46 Moses 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 LORD; the plague has begun.”
- Exodus 30:7 And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps.
- Leviticus 10:6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.
- Numbers 8:2 “Speak to Aaron and tell him: ‘When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.’”
- 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 on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.”
- 1 Chronicles 9:19 Shallum son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his relatives from the Korahites were assigned to guard the thresholds of the Tent, just as their fathers had been assigned to guard the entrance to the dwelling of the LORD.
- 1 Chronicles 9:23 So they and their descendants were assigned to guard the gates of the house of the LORD—the house called the Tent.
- 1 Chronicles 9:33 Those who were musicians, the heads of Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other duties because they were on duty day and night.