Numbers 18:23
וְעָבַד הַלֵּוִי הוּא אֶת־עֲבֹדַת אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְהֵם יִשְׂאוּ עֲוֹנָם חֻקַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם וּבְתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא יִנְחֲלוּ נַחֲלָֽה׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וְעָבַ֨ד הַלֵּוִ֜י ה֗וּא אֶת־עֲבֹדַת֙ אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וְהֵ֖ם יִשְׂא֣וּ עֲוֹנָ֑ם חֻקַּ֤ת עוֹלָם֙ לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וּבְתוֹךְ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹ֥א יִנְחֲל֖וּ נַחֲלָֽה׃
καὶ λειτουργήσει ὁ Λευείτης αὐτὸς τὴν λειτουργίαν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου, καὶ αὐτοὶ λήμψονται τὰ ἁμαρτήματα αὐτῶν, νόμιμον αἰώνιον εἰς τὰς γενεὰς αὐτῶν· καὶ ἐν μέσῳ υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ οὐ κληρονομήσουσιν κληρονομίαν.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
solis filiis Levi mihi in tabernaculo servientibus, et portantibus peccata populi. Legitimum sempiternum erit in generationibus vestris. Nihil aliud possidebunt,
Solo los levitas realizarán el servicio de la Tienda del Encuentro y cargarán con la responsabilidad de sus errores. Esta será una ley permanente por todas sus generaciones. No recibirán tierras como herencia entre los hijos de Israel.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Mas los Levitas harán el servicio del tabernáculo del testimonio, y ellos llevarán su iniquidad: estatuto perpetuo por vuestras edades; y no poseerán heredad entre los hijos de Israel.
The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse establishes that the Levites alone perform the service of the Tent of Meeting and bear responsibility for any iniquity connected to it, as a perpetual statute. It also states that the Levites will not receive a landed inheritance among the Israelites.
Key words
- 'a.Vad ("he will serve", H5647) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative sequence; the verb is reinforced by the independent pronoun Hu' ("he", H1931) immediately after "the Levite," giving emphasis: it is he (the Levite) who performs this service.
- 'a.vo.Dat ("service of", H5656) — feminine singular construct, linking to 'O.hel mo.'Ed ("tent of meeting", H0168/H4150) to form the phrase "service of the tent of meeting."
- yis.'U ("they will bear", H5375) — qal imperfect, expressing an ongoing or repeated future action; governs 'a.vo.Na + suffix m ("their iniquity", H5771/H9028).
- chu.Kat o.Lam ("statute of perpetuity", H2708/H5769) — construct chain meaning "a perpetual statute," modified further by le.Ro.tei.Khem ("for your generations", H1755/H9026).
- yin.cha.Lu ("they will inherit", H5157) — qal imperfect negated by lo' ("not", H3808), stating that the Levites will not inherit na.cha.Lah ("an inheritance", H5159).
What the text says
The sentence opens with a narrative vav attached to 'a.Vad, continuing a sequence of instructions. The subject "the Levite" (ha.Le.vi) is followed by the independent pronoun Hu', a construction that in Biblical Hebrew often marks emphasis or exclusivity — highlighting that this service belongs specifically to the Levite, not to others. The object of the verb is introduced by the direct object marker 'et, governing the construct chain 'a.vo.Dat 'O.hel mo.'Ed, "the service of the tent of meeting."
The second clause shifts subject to Hem ("they"), referring to the Levites collectively, with the imperfect verb yis.'U indicating an action understood as ongoing across time: they "bear" or "carry" 'a.vo.Na + suffix, "their iniquity." This is followed by the construct phrase chu.Kat o.Lam le.Ro.tei.Khem, "a perpetual statute for your generations," which frames the preceding clause as a lasting rule rather than a one-time event.
The final clause negates inheritance: lo' yin.cha.Lu na.cha.Lah, "they will not inherit an inheritance," positioned "in the midst of the sons of Israel" (be.Toch be.Nei Yis.ra.'El), using the construct noun toKh ("among", H8432) to locate the Levites spatially within, yet distinct from, the general Israelite land allotment.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders 'a.vo.Nam ("their iniquity", H5771) as τὰ ἁμαρτήματα αὐτῶν ("their sins"), a related but distinct semantic category from "iniquity" or "guilt." The Vulgate renders the same phrase as peccata populi ("sins of the people"), shifting the referent from the Levites' own iniquity to the sins of the people, which diverges from the Hebrew 'a.vo.Nam ("their iniquity") where the suffix grammatically points back to the Levites themselves.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.