Numbers 8:19
וָאֶתְּנָה אֶת־הַלְוִיִּם נְתֻנִים׀ לְאַהֲרֹן וּלְבָנָיו מִתּוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַעֲבֹד אֶת־עֲבֹדַת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וּלְכַפֵּר עַל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא יִהְיֶה בִּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶף בְּגֶשֶׁת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וָאֶתְּנָ֨ה אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֜ם נְתֻנִ֣ים׀ לְאַהֲרֹ֣ן וּלְבָנָ֗יו מִתּוֹךְ֮ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ לַעֲבֹ֞ד אֶת־עֲבֹדַ֤ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וּלְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֨א יִהְיֶ֜ה בִּבְנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ נֶ֔גֶף בְּגֶ֥שֶׁת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ׃
καὶ ἀπέδωκα τοὺς Λευείτας ἀπόδομα δεδομένους Ἀαρὼν κοὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ ἐκ μέσου υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ, ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔργα τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ τοῦ μαρτυρίου καὶ ἐξιλάσκεσθαι περὶ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ· καὶ οὐκ ἔσται τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ προσεγγίζων πρὸς τὰ ἅγια.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
tradidique eos dono Aaron et filiis ejus de medio populi, ut serviant mihi pro Israël in tabernaculo fœderis, et orent pro eis ne sit in populo plaga, si ausi fuerint accedere ad sanctuarium.
Y he dado a los levitas como un regalo para Aarón y sus hijos de parte de los hijos de Israel, para que hagan el servicio de los hijos de Israel en la Tienda del Encuentro, y para que hagan expiación por los hijos de Israel, para que no caiga ninguna plaga sobre ellos al acercarse al santuario”.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y yo he dado en don los Levitas á Aarón y á sus hijos de entre los hijos de Israel, para que sirvan el ministerio de los hijos de Israel en el tabernáculo del testimonio, y reconcilien á los hijos de Israel; porque no haya plaga en los hijos de Israel, llegando los hijos de Israel al santuario.
And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.”
✦ What the text says
Summary
Numbers 8:19 records YHWH's statement that the Levites have been given as a gift to Aaron and his sons, taken from among the Israelites, to perform the service of the Tent of Meeting on behalf of Israel and to make atonement for them, so that no plague strikes Israel when they approach the holy place.
Key words
- 'etnah ("I have given", H5414G) — qal narrative form with paragogic he (H9012), an emphatic ending marking the speaker's decisive act of giving.
- netunim ("given [ones]", H5414G) — passive participle, same root as 'etnah; the repetition ("I have given... [as] given ones") underscores that the transfer of the Levites is complete and formal.
- la'avod ("to serve", H5647H) — qal infinitive construct expressing purpose: the reason the Levites are given.
- lechaper ("to make atonement", H3722A) — piel infinitive construct; the piel stem intensifies the root, marking a specific ritual action distinct from ordinary service.
- beget ("when drawing near", H5066G) — qal infinitive construct with prefixed be- ("in/when"), forming a temporal clause: the moment of Israel's approach to the sanctuary.
What the text says
The verse opens with a first-person qal verb, 'etnah, "I have given," followed shortly by netunim, the passive participle of the same root (H5414G). This root repetition is a grammatical figure in which the verb and its object-description share the same stem, reinforcing that the Levites are entirely and officially handed over — not merely assigned a task, but constituted as a "given" class of people, taken mittokh benei Yisra'el ("from among the sons of Israel").
The purpose of this transfer is expressed through two parallel infinitive constructs, la'avod ("to serve") and ulechaper ("and to make atonement"), both governed by the preposition le- ("to/for"). The first infinitive is qal (basic service), the second piel (intensified — the specific act of atonement), showing a grammatical distinction between routine cultic labor and the ritual act of atonement. The final clause, introduced by velo' yihyeh ("and it will not be"), states a negative purpose/result: no negef ("plague," H5063) will occur bi-vnei Yisra'el ("among the sons of Israel") at the moment (be- + infinitive geshet, "when drawing near") that Israel approaches ha-qodesh ("the holy place").
Differences between versions
The LXX renders the final clause differently: instead of "no plague will be among the sons of Israel," it reads "there will not be for the sons of Israel [one] drawing near to the holy things" (οὐκ ἔσται τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ προσεγγίζων πρὸς τὰ ἅγια), omitting the noun "plague" (negef, H5063) that appears in the Hebrew and restructuring the clause around who approaches rather than what happens if they do.
The Vulgate adds "mihi" ("to me") in "ut serviant mihi pro Israël," a phrase not present in the Hebrew text, and translates lechaper as "orent pro eis" ("pray for them") rather than a term matching "atonement," reflecting a different lexical choice for the piel verb kaphar (H3722A).
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.