Numbers 4:19

But do this to them, so that life and not death may be theirs when they come near the most holy things; let Aaron and his sons go in and give to every one his work and that which he is to take up;

Bible in Basic English

In The King James Version

But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden:

In Context

18Do not let the family of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites;

20But they themselves are not to go in to see the holy place, even for a minute, for fear of death.

Read all of Numbers 4

Cross References

Exodus 19:21And the Lord said to Moses, Go down and give the people orders to keep back, for fear that a great number of them, forcing their way through to see the Lord, may come to destruction.

Numbers 4:15And after the holy place and all its vessels have been covered up by Aaron and his sons, when the tents of the people go forward, the sons of Kohath are to come and take it up; but the holy things may not be touched by them for fear of death.

Matthew Henry on Numbers 4:2-21

The Office of the Levites. ( b. c. 1490.) 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, 3 From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. 4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things: 5 And when the camp setteth forward,… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Numbers 4:19