Deuteronomy 12:19

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Be careful not to overlook the Levites as long as you live in the land.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֔ פֶּֽן־תַּעֲזֹ֖ב אֶת־הַלֵּוִ֑י כָּל־יָמֶ֖יךָ עַל־אַדְמָתֶֽךָ׃ ס

Transliteration

Hishshāmer to-you pen-taʿăzōb ʾet-the-lēwî all-yāmêkhā upon-ʾadmātêkhā

Grammar Details

• *hishshāmer*: verb, Niphal imperative masculine singular - guard yourself/take heed
• *pen*: conjunction - lest/that not
• *taʿăzōb*: verb, Qal imperfect 2nd person masculine singular - you forsake
• *ʾet*: direct object marker
• *lēwî*: noun, masculine singular with definite article - the Levite
• *yāmêkhā*: noun, masculine plural with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your days
• *ʾadmātêkhā*: noun, feminine singular with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your land/ground/soil

Word Meanings

• *hishshāmer*: guard yourself/take heed/beware
• *pen*: lest/that not/otherwise
• *taʿăzōb*: forsake/abandon/neglect
• *lēwî*: Levite/member of tribe of Levi
• *ʾadmātêkhā*: land/ground/soil/territory

Referenced Verses

• Neh 10:34-39 : 34 “We– the priests, the Levites, and the people– have cast lots concerning the wood offerings, to bring them to the temple of our God according to our families at the designated times year by year to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as is written in the law. 35 We also accept responsibility for bringing the first fruits of our land and the first fruits of every fruit tree year by year to the temple of the LORD. 36 We also accept responsibility, as is written in the law, for bringing the firstborn of our sons and our cattle and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks to the temple of our God, to the priests who are ministering in the temple of our God. 37 We will also bring the first of our coarse meal, of our contributions, of the fruit of every tree, of new wine, and of olive oil to the priests at the storerooms of the temple of our God, along with a tenth of the produce of our land to the Levites, for the Levites are the ones who collect the tithes in all the cities where we work. 38 A priest of Aaron’s line will be with the Levites when the Levites collect the tithes, and the Levites will bring up a tenth of the tithes to the temple of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. 39 The Israelites and the Levites will bring the contribution of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms where the utensils of the sanctuary are kept, and where the priests who minister stay, along with the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the temple of our God.”
• 1 Cor 9:10-14 : 10 Or is he not surely speaking for our benefit? It was written for us, because the one plowing and threshing ought to work in hope of enjoying the harvest. 11 If we sowed spiritual blessings among you, is it too much to reap material things from you? 12 If others receive this right from you, are we not more deserving?But we have not made use of this right. Instead we endure everything so that we may not be a hindrance to the gospel of Christ. 13 Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple eat food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar receive a part of the offerings? 14 In the same way the Lord commanded those who proclaim the gospel to receive their living by the gospel.
• 2 Chr 11:13-14 : 13 The priests and Levites who lived throughout Israel supported him, no matter where they resided. 14 The Levites even left their pasturelands and their property behind and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons prohibited them from serving as the LORD’s priests.
• 2 Chr 31:4-9 : 4 He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to contribute the portion prescribed for the priests and Levites so they might be obedient to the law of the LORD. 5 When the edict was issued, the Israelites freely contributed the initial portion of their grain, wine, olive oil, honey, and all the produce of their fields. They brought a tenth of everything, which added up to a huge amount. 6 The Israelites and people of Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also contributed a tenth of their cattle and sheep, as well as a tenth of the holy items consecrated to the LORD their God. They brought them and placed them in many heaps. 7 In the third month they began piling their contributions in heaps and finished in the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and the officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the LORD and pronounced blessings on his people Israel. 9 When Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps, 10 Azariah, the head priest from the family of Zadok, said to him,“Since the contributions began arriving in the LORD’s temple, we have had plenty to eat and have a large quantity left over. For the LORD has blessed his people, and this large amount remains.” 11 Hezekiah ordered that storerooms be prepared in the LORD’s temple. When this was done, 12 they brought in the contributions, tithes, and consecrated items that had been offered. Konaniah, a Levite, was in charge of all this, assisted by his brother Shimei. 13 Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath, and Benaiah worked under the supervision of Konaniah and his brother Shimei, as directed by King Hezekiah and Azariah, the supervisor of God’s temple. 14 Kore son of Imnah, a Levite and the guard on the east side, was in charge of the voluntary offerings made to God and disbursed the contributions made to the LORD and the consecrated items. 15 In the cities of the priests, Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah faithfully assisted him in making disbursements to their fellow priests according to their divisions, regardless of age. 16 They made disbursements to all the males three years old and up who were listed in the genealogical records– to all who would enter the LORD’s temple to serve on a daily basis and fulfill their duties as assigned to their divisions. 17 They made disbursements to the priests listed in the genealogical records by their families, and to the Levites twenty years old and up, according to their duties as assigned to their divisions, 18 and to all the infants, wives, sons, and daughters of the entire assembly listed in the genealogical records, for they faithfully consecrated themselves. 19 As for the descendants of Aaron, the priests who lived in the outskirts of all their cities, men were assigned to disburse portions to every male among the priests and to every Levite listed in the genealogical records. 20 This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what the LORD his God considered good and right and faithful. 21 He wholeheartedly and successfully reinstituted service in God’s temple and obedience to the law, in order to follow his God.
• Deut 14:27-29 : 27 As for the Levites in your villages, you must not ignore them, for they have no allotment or inheritance along with you. 28 At the end of every three years you must bring all the tithe of your produce, in that very year, and you must store it up in your villages. 29 Then the Levites(because they have no allotment or inheritance with you), the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows of your villages may come and eat their fill so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work you do.