Numbers 18:1

The Duties of the Priests and Levities

1 Yahweh said to Aaron, "You, your sons, and your family with you will bear the guilt of the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you will bear the guilt of your priesthood.

Numbers 18:1 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 18:1

And the Lord spake unto Aaron
As the things spoken were such as concerned Aaron, he might be only and immediately spoken unto: thou, and thy sons, and thy father's house with thee;
meaning both priests and Levites, the priests by him and his sons, and the Levites by his father's house: shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary;
the blame of any evil committed there, the punishment of it; the priests, Aaron and his sons, if they did not perform the duty of their office aright, he in the most holy place, and they in the holy place, and at the altar of burnt offering in the court; and the Levites, if they did not take care to watch in the tabernacle, and keep out strangers and polluted persons: and thou, and thy sons with thee, shall bear the iniquity of your
priesthood;
be answerable for my sins, errors, and mistakes that should be committed by them in the discharge of their office, through their own remissness, or not taking care that the Levites did their duty; this shows that the office of priesthood, though honourable, was burdensome, and not to be envied; and that the people needed not to be under such terrible apprehensions as they were, lest they should come too near the sanctuary, as to be in danger of death, since it lay upon the priests and Levites especially to take care thereof, and who, if negligent, would suffer.

Numbers 18:1 In-Context

1 Yahweh said to Aaron, "You, your sons, and your family with you will bear the guilt of the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you will bear the guilt of your priesthood.

2 Moreover, bring your brothers with you, the tribe of Levi the tribe of your father, that they may be joined to you and minister [to] you, you and your sons with you before the tent of testimony.

3 They will keep your responsibility and the responsibility of all the tent, only they may not come near the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, so both you and they will not die.

4 They will be joined to you, and they will keep the responsibility of the tent of assembly for the entire service of the tent; a stranger may not come near you.

5 You will keep the responsibility of the sanctuary and the responsibility of the altar, and there will no longer be wrath on the {Israelites}.