Deuteronomy 21:5

Summary

The verse describes the priests, sons of Levi, coming forward because Yehovah has chosen them to serve him and to bless in his name. It further states that their word ("mouth") will settle every dispute and every case of injury.

Key words

• ni.ge.Shu ("they will draw near", H5066G) — niphal sequential perfect; continues the narrative sequence from the preceding verses, describing an action that follows logically from what precedes.
• ba.Char ("he has chosen", H0977) — qal perfect, marking a completed action: the choosing of the Levitical priests by Yehovah as an established fact underlying the present instruction.
• le.Sha.re.T ("to serve", H8334) — piel infinitive construct with 3ms suffix ("him"); the piel stem intensifies the verb, indicating dedicated cultic service, here purpose ("in order to serve").
• le.va.Rekh ("to bless", H1288) — piel infinitive, parallel in form to le.Sha.re.T, joined by ve ("and", H9002), showing that serving and blessing are twin functions assigned to the priests.
• 'al-pi.Hem ("on their mouth", H5921A + H6310I + H9028) — construct phrase with pronominal suffix; literally "upon the mouth of them," idiomatically meaning "according to their word/pronouncement."

What the text says

The verse opens with a narrative vav attached to ni.ge.Shu ("they will draw near", H5066G), a niphal sequential perfect that links this action to the preceding legal sequence in Deuteronomy 21. The subject, ha.ko.ha.Nim be.Nei le.Vi ("the priests, sons of Levi"), is identified by a construct chain — be.Nei ("sons of", H1121A) governing le.Vi ("Levi", H3878) — specifying their lineage rather than merely their office.

The causal clause ki va.m ba.Char Yah.weh 'e.lo.Hei.kha ("for in them Yehovah your God has chosen") uses the qal perfect ba.Char (H0977) to present the choosing as a completed, prior fact that grounds the present action of drawing near. The purpose of this choice is expressed through two parallel piel infinitives joined by ve: le.Sha.re.T-o ("to serve him", H8334 + H9033) and u.le.va.Rekh be.Shem Yah.weh ("and to bless in the name of Yehovah", H1288). Both infinitives depend on the same governing verb ba.Char, presenting service and blessing as two coordinated functions rather than sequential acts.

The final clause shifts to imperfect aspect with yih.Yeh (H1961, "it will be"), describing an ongoing or repeated situation rather than a single event. The phrase 'al-pi.Hem ("upon their mouth", H6310I + H9028) functions idiomatically to mean "by their word" or "according to their pronouncement," governing the two coordinated nouns kol-riv ("every dispute", H7379) and ve.khol-Na.ga' ("and every wound/injury", H5061), both linked by ve and structured as construct phrases with kol ("every", H3605).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ni.ge.Shu ("they will draw near") differently, omitting an explicit verb of approach and instead beginning directly with "καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς" ("and the priests"), shifting the sentence's opening emphasis from action to identification of subject. Where the Hebrew has le.Sha.re.T-o ("to serve him"), the LXX uses παρεστηκέναι αὐτῷ ("to stand beside him"), a different verb of attendance rather than direct service. For Na.ga' ("wound", H5061), the Vulgate expands into "quidquid mundum, vel immundum est" ("whatever is clean or unclean"), interpreting the term more broadly than the LXX's ἁφή ("touch/affliction") or the Hebrew's more concrete sense of a physical wound or injury.