Exodus 27:21

בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד מִחוּץ לַפָּרֹכֶת אֲשֶׁר עַל־הָעֵדֻת יַעֲרֹךְ אֹתוֹ אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו מֵעֶרֶב עַד־בֹּקֶר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה חֻקַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתָם מֵאֵת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ס

✦ Hebrew interlinear

Tap a word to see its entry

✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵד֩ מִח֨וּץ לַפָּרֹ֜כֶת אֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־הָעֵדֻ֗ת יַעֲרֹךְ֩ אֹת֨וֹ אַהֲרֹ֧ן וּבָנָ֛יו מֵעֶ֥רֶב עַד־בֹּ֖קֶר לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה חֻקַּ֤ת עוֹלָם֙ לְדֹ֣רֹתָ֔ם מֵאֵ֖ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ס

Greek (Septuagint)

ἐν τῆ σκηνὴ τοῦ μαρτυρίου, ἔξωθεν τοῦ καταπετάσματος τοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς διαθήκης· καύσει οὐτὸ Ἀαρὼν καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ ὄφ’ ἑσπέρας ἕως πρῴ ἐναντίον Κυρίου· νόμιμον αἰώνιον εἰς τὰς γενεὰς ὑμῶν παρὰ τῶν Ἰσραήλ.

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

in tabernaculo testimonii, extra velum quod oppansum est testimonio. Et collocabunt eam Aaron et filii ejus, ut usque mane luceat coram Domino. Perpetuus erit cultus per successiones eorum a filiis Israël.

Spanish

Aarón y sus hijos deberán mantener las lámparas encendidas delante de Yehová desde la tarde hasta la mañana. Esto se hará en la Tienda de Reunión, afuera del velo que protege el arca del pacto. Los israelitas y sus descendientes deberán cumplir con esta ley para siempre.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

En el tabernáculo del testimonio, afuera del velo que está delante del testimonio, las pondrá en orden Aarón y sus hijos, delante de Jehová desde la tarde hasta la mañana, como estatuto perpetuo de los hijos de Israel por sus generaciones.

English

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.

✦ What the text says

Summary

The verse specifies where and when the priestly service described in the preceding verse takes place: inside the 'Ohel Mo'ed ("tent of meeting", H0168G/H4150I), outside the curtain that hangs before the 'Edut ("testimony", H5715). Aaron and his sons are to "arrange it" from evening until morning before YHWH, and this is declared a perpetual statute for the generations, sourced "from the sons of Israel."

Key words

ya'aroKh ("he will arrange", H6186A) — qal imperfect 3ms; the verb has no expressed subject noun until "Aaron" is stated afterward, and it takes a singular form even though "and his sons" is added as compound subject.
'oT-o ("it", H0853+H9033) — the direct object marker with 3ms suffix; the referent ("it") is not named within this verse itself, only recoverable from what precedes.
paRoKhet ("curtain", H6532) — feminine singular noun marking the physical boundary ("outside the curtain") that situates the action spatially within the tent.
chuKat 'oLam ("statute of perpetuity", H2708 construct + H5769G) — a construct chain meaning literally "a statute of forever," modified further by "for their generations" (le-doroTam, H1755+H9028).
me'Et ("from," H0854 with H9006) — a compound preposition ("from with/from among") introducing benei Yisra'el ("sons of Israel", H1121G+H3478) as the group associated with or source of the statute.

What the text says

The sentence opens with two stacked locative phrases: "in the tent of meeting" and "from outside to the curtain," the second further qualified by a relative clause, "which is on the testimony" ('asher 'al ha-'Edut). This nested construction pins down the exact spot without repeating a verb — the location phrases sit before the main clause entirely.

The main clause centers on ya'aroKh ("he will arrange"), a qal imperfect verb whose grammatical subject, "Aaron and his sons" (Aharon u-vanav), appears only after the verb and object marker. The object is simply 'oto ("it"), a pronoun with no antecedent noun in this verse — the arranged item must be inferred from context outside this verse's word list. The time frame "from evening until morning" (me-'erev 'ad-boker) and the phrase "before YHWH" (li-fnei YHWH) further specify the ritual's temporal and directional setting.

The closing clause, "a statute of perpetuity for their generations, from the sons of Israel," uses a construct chain (chukkat 'olam) followed by le-dorotam ("for their generations") and then me'et benei Yisra'el ("from the sons of Israel"), a phrase built from two prepositions (min + 'et) rather than a single preposition, marking Israel as the group the statute proceeds from or belongs to.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ya'aroKh ("he will arrange," H6186A) as καύσει ("he will burn"), a different verb than the Hebrew root. The Vulgate uses "collocabunt" ("they will place"), a plural verb matching the compound subject, unlike the Hebrew singular ya'aroKh. The Vulgate also adds a purpose clause, "ut usque mane luceat" ("so that it may shine until morning"), not present in the Hebrew wording. The LXX further translates 'Edut ("testimony", H5715) as διαθήκης ("covenant"), and renders benei Yisra'el ("sons of Israel") simply as "τῶν Ἰσραήλ" ("the Israel[ites]"), omitting "sons of."

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.