And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel: See the comments on 3.9. Verse 16 says the Levites were given to the LORD, and now he gives them to the priests to serve their fellow Israelites. The substitutionary nature of the Levites’ service is highlighted in this verse. The Hebrew verb form rendered have given is the same as for the verb translated “have taken” in verse 18. So we recommend using the past tense verb “gave” (Bijbel: Vertaling in opdracht van het Nederlandsch Bijbelgenootschap, Luther) in this context. As a gift is literally “given ones.” Compare Bijbel: Vertaling in opdracht van het Nederlandsch Bijbelgenootschap with “as ones that have been given.” A literal rendering of I have given … as a gift may sound redundant in some languages. Good News Translation avoids the redundancy by saying “I assign … as a gift,” and so does Chewa with “I offer/hand over … as a gift.” In other languages the repetition of the verb for “give” in Hebrew may serve its emphatic function, as in the original text. In any case, the style of the translation should not detract from its content.

To do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting: For to do the service, see verse 11 and 7.5; for the tent of meeting, see 1.1.

And to make atonement for the people of Israel: For the Hebrew verb rendered make atonement, see verse 12. Good News Translation uses the verb “protect,” which reminds us that the Levites were in their very persons a protective buffer around the Tabernacle, so that the Israelites would not get too close to it (see 1.53). However, instead of “to protect the Israelites” (Good News Translation), a better model is “to serve as redemption for the Israelites” (Levine, page 270), which expresses the ritual significance of the Hebrew verb here. Just as the bulls provided atonement for the Levites in verse 12, so the Levites provided atonement for the Israelites. The Levites, unlike the priests, did not perform the ritual of atonement; rather, atonement was performed with them (so Milgrom, page 369). A helpful model for this interpretation is given in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (see below). According to a different interpretation, the Levites themselves were the agents of this ritual act; for example, New Living Translation renders this clause as “and make sacrifices to purify the people.” However, the Hebrew does not mention sacrifices here. Bible en français courant provides a more helpful model for this interpretation (see below).

That there may be no plague among the people of Israel in case the people of Israel should come near the sanctuary: The Levites were like a protective hedge for the community at large in relation to the Tabernacle (see 1.53). The Hebrew word for plague refers to some type of destructive blow, but it is not clear what it is here, so translators should use a general term to render it; for example, Good News Translation has “disaster.” For the Hebrew word rendered sanctuary (qodesh), see the comments on 3.28. Good News Translation says “Holy Place,” which is a good model.

There are two possible interpretations for the last half of this verse. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch expresses one possibility as follows:

• They have to perform the service in the holy tent and thus keep the other Israelites from the harm that would hit them if they would come too close to the holy place.

Bible en français courant expresses the other possible interpretation as follows:

• They will perform their ministry for the service of the other Israelites in the tent of meeting and will thus obtain pardon in their favor; in this way I will not have to act against those who come too close to the sanctuary.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .