Bilangan 1:53

1:53 But the Levites must camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that the Lord’s anger ¹  will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are responsible for the care ²  of the tabernacle of the testimony.”

Bilangan 4:19

4:19 but in order that they will live ³  and not die when they approach the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons will go in and appoint ⁴  each man ⁵  to his service and his responsibility.

Bilangan 11:15

11:15 But if you are going to deal ⁶  with me like this, then kill me immediately. ⁷  If I have found favor in your sight then do not let me see my trouble.” ⁸ 

Bilangan 11:22

11:22 Would they have enough if the flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?”

Bilangan 14:3

14:3 Why has the Lord brought us into this land only to be killed by the sword, that our wives and our children should become plunder? Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”

Bilangan 28:2

28:2 “Command the Israelites: ⁹  ‘With regard to my offering, ¹⁰  be sure to offer ¹¹  my food for my offering made by fire, as a pleasing aroma to me at its appointed time.’ ¹² 

Bilangan 31:23

31:23 everything that may stand the fire, you are to pass through the fire, ¹³  and it will be ceremonially clean, but it must still be purified with the water of purification. Anything that cannot withstand the fire you must pass through the water.

Bilangan 35:2

35:2 “Instruct the Israelites to give ¹⁴  the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites ¹⁵  will possess. You must also give the Levites grazing land around the towns.

Bilangan 35:32

35:32 And you must not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a town of refuge, to allow him to return home and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. ¹⁶ 

¹ tc Instead of “wrath” the Greek text has “sin,” focusing the emphasis on the human error and not on the wrath of God. This may have been a conscious change to explain the divine wrath.

tn Heb “so that there be no wrath on.” In context this is clearly the divine anger, so “the Lord’s” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn The main verb of the clause is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, וְשָׁמְרוּ (vÿshamÿru) meaning they “shall guard, protect, watch over, care for.” It may carry the same obligatory nuance as the preceding verbs because of the sequence. The object used with this is the cognate noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret): “The Levites must care for the care of the tabernacle.” The cognate intensifies the construction to stress that they are responsible for this care.

³ tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text: Do this…and they will live. Consequently, the verb “and they will live” is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive to express the future consequence of “doing this” for them.

⁴ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive continues the instruction for Aaron.

⁵ tn The distributive sense is obtained by the repetition, “a man” and “a man.”

⁶ tn The participle expresses the future idea of what God is doing, or what he is going to be doing. Moses would rather be killed than be given a totally impossible duty over a people that were not his.

⁷ tn The imperative of הָרַג (harag) is followed by the infinitive absolute for emphasis. The point is more that the infinitive adds to the emphasis of the imperative mood, which would be immediate compliance.

⁸ tn Or “my own ruin” (NIV). The word “trouble” here probably refers to the stress and difficulty of caring for a complaining group of people. The suffix on the noun would be objective, perhaps stressing the indirect object of the noun – trouble for me. The expression “on my trouble” (בְּרָעָתִי, bÿra’ati) is one of the so-called tiqqune sopherim, or “emendations of the scribes.” According to this tradition the original reading in v. 15 was [to look] “on your evil” (בְּרָעָתֶךָ, bÿra’atekha), meaning “the calamity that you bring about” for Israel. However, since such an expression could be mistakenly thought to attribute evil to the Lord, the ancient scribes changed it to the reading found in the MT.

⁹ tn Heb “and say to them.” These words have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁰ tn Th sentence begins with the accusative “my offering.” It is suspended at the beginning as an independent accusative to itemize the subject matter. The second accusative is the formal object of the verb. It could also be taken in apposition to the first accusative.

¹¹ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense expressing instruction, followed by the infinitive construct used to express the complement of direct object.

¹² sn See L. R. Fisher, “New Ritual Calendar from Ugarit,” HTR 63 (1970): 485-501.

¹³ sn Purification by fire is unique to this event. Making these metallic objects “pass through the fire” was not only a way of purifying (burning off impurities), but it seems to be a dedicatory rite as well to the Lord and his people. The aspect of passing through the fire is one used by these pagans for child sacrifice.

¹⁴ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive: “command…and they will give,” or “that they give.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Heb “the priest.” The Greek and the Syriac have “high priest.” The present translation, along with many English versions, uses “high priest” as a clarification.