Numbers 1:53

וְהַלְוִיִּם יַחֲנוּ סָבִיב לְמִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת וְלֹֽא־יִהְיֶה קֶצֶף עַל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְשָׁמְרוּ הַלְוִיִּם אֶת־מִשְׁמֶרֶת מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֽוּת׃

✦ Hebrew interlinear

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✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וְהַלְוִיִּ֞ם יַחֲנ֤וּ סָבִיב֙ לְמִשְׁכַּ֣ן הָעֵדֻ֔ת וְלֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֣ה קֶ֔צֶף עַל־עֲדַ֖ת בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְשָׁמְרוּ֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם אֶת־מִשְׁמֶ֖רֶת מִשְׁכַּ֥ן הָעֵדֽוּת׃

Greek (Septuagint)

δὲ Λευεῖται παρεμβαλέτωσαν ἐναντίον Κυρίου κύκλῳ τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἁμάρτημα ἐν υἱοῖς Ἰσραήλ. καὶ φυλάξουσιν οἱ Λευεῖται αὐτοὶ τὴν φυλακὴν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου.

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

Latin (Vulgate)

Porro Levitæ per gyrum tabernaculi figent tentoria, ne fiat indignatio super multitudinem filiorum Israël, et excubabunt in custodiis tabernaculi testimonii.

Spanish

Pero los levitas acamparán alrededor del Tabernáculo del Testimonio, para que no caiga la ira sobre la congregación de los hijos de Israel. Los levitas serán responsables de cuidar el Tabernáculo del Testimonio”.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Mas los Levitas asentarán las suyas alrededor del tabernáculo del testimonio, y no habrá ira sobre la congregación de los hijos de Israel: y los Levitas tendrán la guarda del tabernáculo del testimonio.

English

But the Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the congregation of Israel. So the Levites are responsible for the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

✦ What the text says

Summary

The verse instructs that the leviYim ("Levites", H3881) are to encamp surrounding the mishkan ("tabernacle of", H4908) ha'edut ("the testimony", H5715), so that qetzef ("wrath", H7110A) does not come upon the 'adat ("congregation of", H5712) the bene Yisra'el ("sons of Israel", H1121G/H3478). It closes by stating that the Levites will keep the mishmeret ("duty of", H4931) of that same tabernacle.

Key words

yachanu ("they will encamp", H2583) — qal imperfect, third person plural, expressing an ongoing/future action assigned to the Levites as a collective subject.
qetzef ("wrath", H7110A) — masculine singular noun, subject of the negated verb yihyeh ("it will be", H1961), itself a qal imperfect.
mishmeret ("duty of", H4931) — feminine singular noun in construct state, meaning it is grammatically bound to the following noun mishkan ("tabernacle of", H4908), forming "duty of the tabernacle."
'edut ("testimony", H5715) — feminine singular noun, appears twice (words 9 and 26), each time in construct chain after mishkan, anchoring the sanctuary's identity as "tabernacle of the testimony."
shamru ("they will keep", H8104H) — qal sequential perfect (vav-consecutive), continuing the narrative sequence begun by yachanu, so the encamping and the keeping are presented as linked actions in temporal/logical succession.

What the text says

The verse divides into two main clauses joined by the narrative ve ("and", H9001). The first clause states the Levites' spatial position: yachanu saviv ("they will encamp around", H2583 + H5439G) le-mishkan ha'edut ("to the tabernacle of the testimony"). This is followed by a negated clause, ve-lo yihyeh qetzef ("and wrath will not be"), whose subject qetzef stands after the verb, a common Hebrew word order for existential statements. The prepositional phrase 'al 'adat bene Yisra'el ("towards the congregation of the sons of Israel") specifies who is protected from this qetzef.

The second half of the verse switches verb form: from imperfect (yachanu, yihyeh) to sequential perfect (shamru), a grammatical device that continues the sequence of expected actions rather than marking a separate tense. The direct object marker 'et (H0853, untranslated) introduces mishmeret mishkan ha'edut, a double construct chain: "duty of the tabernacle of the testimony," tightly binding the Levites' assigned task to the specific structure named twice in the verse.

Differences between versions

The LXX adds ἐναντίον Κυρίου ("before the Lord"), a phrase with no equivalent among the Hebrew words listed. Where the Hebrew has qetzef ("wrath", H7110A), the LXX renders ἁμάρτημα ("sin"), while the Vulgate's indignatio aligns more closely with "wrath." The LXX also inserts αὐτοὶ ("they themselves") before "shall keep," an emphasis not present in the Hebrew word order, which instead repeats ha-leviyim ("the Levites") explicitly as the subject of shamru.

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