Deuteronomy 24:8

Summary

The verse commands the Israelites to be vigilant regarding tzara'at ("serious skin disease", H6883), following exactly what the Levitical priests instruct concerning it. The instruction is framed by a repeated root for "keeping/guarding," first as caution against the affliction, then as diligent obedience to priestly teaching, and finally as a general summary command to comply as Yehovah commanded the priests.

Key words

• hiShamer ("take heed", H8104J) — niphal imperative, opening the verse with a reflexive/passive-toned command: "guard yourself."
• nega' ("[the] plague of", H5061) — masculine singular construct, linking directly to tzara'at, forming the phrase "the plague of the skin disease."
• yoru ("they will instruct", H3384B) — hiphil imperfect, causative form meaning "they cause to know/teach," referring to the priests' ongoing instructive role.
• tzivvitim ("I commanded them", H6680) — piel perfect, first person, marking a completed past command by the speaker (Yehovah) directed at the priests, referenced here as the standard for obedience.
• tishmeru ("you will take care", H8104J) — qal imperfect plural, closing the verse by repeating the root of hiShamer, forming an inclusio around the instruction.

What the text says

The verse opens with the niphal imperative hiShamer ("take heed"), governing the prepositional phrase be-nega' ha-tzara'at ("regarding the plague of the skin disease"). This is followed by two infinitive constructions, li-shmor me'od ("to keep/guard exceedingly") and ve-la'asot ("and to do"), which function adverbially, intensifying the initial command rather than introducing new actions. The phrase ke-khol asher ("according to all that") introduces a relative clause governed by the hiphil imperfect yoru ("they will instruct"), attributing an active, causative teaching role to ha-kohanim ha-Leviyyim ("the priests, the Levites").

The clause ka'asher tzivvitim ("as I commanded them") uses the piel perfect tzivvitim, marking a completed act of command by the speaker toward the priests, distinct from the imperfect verbs describing ongoing or future compliance by the people. The verse closes with tishmeru la'asot ("you will take care to do"), a qal imperfect plural paired again with the infinitive la'asot ("to do"), echoing the opening imperative and reinforcing the verse's structural repetition of the root sh-m-r ("keep/guard") three times across the verse.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the Hebrew ke-khol ("according to all") as κατὰ πάντα τὸν νόμον ("according to all the law"), introducing the word "law" (νόμος) where the Hebrew has only "all" (khol, H3605) without an explicit noun for "law." The LXX also uses a subjunctive-conditional construction, ἐὰν ἀναγγείλωσιν ("if they announce"), for the Hebrew hiphil imperfect yoru ("they will instruct"), shifting the nuance from direct future instruction to a conditional one. The Vulgate reformulates the opening as ne incurras plagam lepræ ("lest you incur the plague of leprosy"), making explicit a purpose/avoidance sense not directly stated by the Hebrew niphal imperative hiShamer, which simply commands vigilance without specifying incurring the disease as the danger avoided.