10 And Aaron and his sons shalt thou appoint that they may attend to their priest's office; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death.
and when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encampeth, the Levites shall set it up; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death.
or service, [let us occupy ourselves] in service; or he that teaches, in teaching;
But thou and thy sons with thee shall attend to your priesthood for all that concerneth the altar, and for that which is inside the veil; and ye shall perform the service: I give you your priesthood as a service of gift, and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death.
And those who encamped before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, were Moses, and Aaron and his sons, who kept the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death.
Look out therefore, brethren, from among yourselves seven men, well reported of, full of [the] [Holy] Spirit and wisdom, whom we will establish over this business: but *we* will give ourselves up to prayer and the ministry of the word.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness for entering into the [holy of] holies by the blood of Jesus, the new and living way which he has dedicated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and [having] a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, sprinkled as to our hearts from a wicked conscience, and washed as to our body with pure water.
If then indeed he were upon earth, he would not even be a priest, there being those who offer the gifts according to the law,
Occupy thyself with these things; be wholly in them, that thy progress may be manifest to all. Give heed to thyself and to the teaching; continue in them; for, doing this, thou shalt save both thyself and those that hear thee.
And thou shalt gird them with the girdle -- Aaron and his sons, and bind the high caps on them; and the priesthood shall be theirs for an everlasting statute; and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.
And ye have not kept the charge of my holy things, but have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
But when he became strong his heart was lifted up to [his] downfall; and he transgressed against Jehovah his God, and went into the temple of Jehovah to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him priests of Jehovah, eighty valiant men; and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said to him, It is not for thee, Uzziah, to burn incense to Jehovah, but for the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast transgressed; neither shall it be for thine honour from Jehovah Elohim. And Uzziah was wroth; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of Jehovah, beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked upon him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; even he himself hasted to go out, because Jehovah had smitten him. And Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of Jehovah. And Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.
And they ministered before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting with singing, until Solomon had built the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem; and they attended to their office according to their order.
And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.
And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of the whole tent: only they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar, that they may not die, and you as well as they.
as a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron come near to burn incense before Jehovah, that he be not as Korah, and as his band, -- as Jehovah had said to him through Moses.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 3
Commentary on Numbers 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
This chapter and the next are concerning the tribe of Levi, which was to be mustered and marshalled by itself, and not in common with the other tribes, intimating the particular honour put upon them and the particular duty and service required from them. The Levites are in this chapter considered,
Num 3:1-13
Here,
Num 3:14-39
The Levites being granted to Aaron to minister to him, they are here delivered to him by tale, that he might know what he had, and employ them accordingly. Observe,
Num 3:40-51
Here is the exchange made of the Levites for the first-born.