Deuteronomy 12:19

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Take heed to yourself that you don't forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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Word by word

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פֶּֽן

pên

H6435

“lest”

Conjunction

Appears 133× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 3:3

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H6437

TWOT: 1780

lest, not, beware lest (conjunction) - lest (adverb)

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

10: words
9: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Grammatical profile

2 verbs
4 nouns
2 prepositions
1 conjunction
1 particle

Verb forms

הִשָּׁ֣מֶר Niphal · Imperative
תַּעֲזֹ֖ב Qal · Imperfect

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 18 words from the Hebrew and 20 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 10 Hebrew tokens and 16 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Deuteronomy 12:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

2 Chronicles 31:4–21 Moreover he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the law of Yahweh.
Nehemiah 10:34–39 We cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of Yahweh our God, as it is written in the law;
Deuteronomy 14:27–29 The Levite who is within your gates, you shall not forsake him; for he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
2 Chronicles 11:13–14 The priests and the Levites who were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their border.
1 Corinthians 9:10–14 or does he say it assuredly for our sake? Yes, it was written for our sake, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should partake of his hope.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Deuteronomy 12:19 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֔ פֶּֽן תַּעֲזֹ֖ב אֶת הַלֵּוִ֑י כָּל יָמֶ֖יךָ עַל אַדְמָתֶֽךָ

Take heed to yourself that you don't forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Deuteronomy 12:19 Septuagint · lemma form

προςἔχω σεαυτοῦ μή ἐν καταλείπω ὁ λευίτης πᾶς ὁ χρόνος ὅσος ἐάν ζάω ἐπί ὁ γῆ

Take heed to yourself that you do not desert the Levite all the time that you live upon the earth.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

אִסְתַּמַר לָךְ דִילְמָא תִשְׁבּוֹק יָת לֵוָאֵי כָּל יוֹמָיךְ עַל אַרְעָךְ

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

אִסְתַּמָּרוּ לְכוֹן דִּלְמָא תִּימְעָלוּן עַל לֵוָאֵי כָּל יוֹמֵיכוֹן דְּאַתּוּן שָׁרַן עַל אַרְעֲכוֹן

Beware that thou aggrieve not the Levite all your days in which you dwell in your land.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Deuteronomy 12:19 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Deu 12:19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.

Ver. 19. That thou forsake not the Levite.] But look to his livelihood; since, Ad tenuitatem beneficiorum necessario sequitur ignorantia sacerdotum; small allowances make either ignorant or negligent ministers. {a}

{a} Panormitan.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 19. Forsake not the Levite] These had no inheritance, and were to live by the sanctuary: if therefore the offerings were withheld by which the Levites were supported, they of course must perish. Those who have devoted themselves to the service of God in ministering to the salvation of the souls of men, should certainly be furnished at least with all the necessaries of life. Those who withhold this from them sin against their own mercies, and that ordinance of God by which a ministry is established for the salvation of souls.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

John Gill's Exposition

Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite,.... By withholding from him the tithes appointed for his maintenance; or rather by neglecting to take him with him in order to partake of the feast or entertainment before spoken of:

as long as thou livest upon the earth; so that it was not one time only, but always; whenever he ate these holy things before the Lord, as long as he lived, he was to be careful he had the Levite with him, for a reason given, Deu 12:12.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Take heed lest a worldly mind and self-love make thee rob the Levites of their dues, as afterwards the ungodly Jews did. See Mal 3:8.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

The Levite.

The dues of the Levites consisted mainly of the tithes. The value of this legal provision has been frequently exaggerated. The mistake has lain in comparing it with the average of income over the whole nation, instead of with the incomes of the wealthier and middle classes. Comparing it with these, it will be found to have been liberal, but not excessive, even supposing it to have been conscientiously paid. This, however, it would seldom be. No tribunal existed to enforce payment. All depended on the conscientiousness of the individual tithe-payer. It is easy to see that an income of this sort was in the highest degree precarious, and that in times of religious declension, the body of the Levites would be reduced to great straits. These facts sufficiently account for the reiterated injunctions not to forsake the Levite, but to include him in every festive gathering. Three reasons for his liberal support:

1. His calling deprived him of the usual means of livelihood.

2. His office was one of service for the people.

3. His relation to the altar made neglect shown to him a dishonor done to God.

Paul applies, in 1Co_9:13, 1Co_9:14, to the gospel ministry. J.O.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

השמר לך TAKE HEED TO THYSELF [LEST THOU FORSAKE THE LEVITE] — This is intended in addition to the positive command expressed in the previous verse, to attach to it (the neglect of the Levite) a negative command, also.

על אדמתך [TAKE HEED TO THYSELF LEST THOU FORSAKE THE LEVITE] UPON THY GROUND — but in exile (outside the Holy Land) you are not admonished as regards him more than as regards the poor of the ordinary Israelites (Sifrei Devarim 74:9; Talmud Yerushalmi Horayot end).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Deuteronomy, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 10 words (9 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is pên (“lest”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

What does “lest” (pên) contribute to the verse as a whole?
2 Chronicles 31:4–21 shares this passage’s theme. How do the two illuminate each other?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
The verb «הִשָּׁ֣מֶר» is Niphal Imperative. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Adam Clarke's Commentary read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 10 Hebrew ↔ 16 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 16 words in this verse.
9 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 10 words in this verse.