Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who wandered away from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the Levites who went far from me, when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity.
- KJV And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.
- NKJV “And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity.
- NASB But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who went astray from Me following their idols, shall suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing.
- NLT And the men of the tribe of Levi who abandoned me when Israel strayed away from me to worship idols must bear the consequences of their unfaithfulness.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Levites who strayed into idolatry when Israel went astray must bear the consequences of their sin.
Overview
Levites who led or shared in the nation's idolatry are held accountable and demoted from full priestly privilege. Bearing their iniquity means facing the just results of their unfaithfulness. The passage shows that those given sacred trust are held to high account, while also pointing to the mercy that still grants them a role in God's house.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ezek 48:11It will be for the consecrated priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.
- Ezek 22:26Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
- 1 Tim 5:22Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
- Ezek 44:15But the Levitical priests, who are descended from Zadok and who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, are to approach Me to minister before Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood, declares the Lord GOD.
- 2 Kgs 23:8–9Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which was to the left of the city gate.
- Neh 9:34Our kings and leaders and priests and fathers did not obey Your law or listen to Your commandments and warnings that You gave them.
- Num 18:23The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.
- Isa 53:11After the anguish of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.
- Gen 4:13But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
- Zeph 3:4Her prophets are reckless, faithless men. Her priests profane the sanctuary; they do violence to the law.
- Lev 19:8Whoever eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to the LORD. That person must be cut off from his people.
- Jer 23:11“For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.
- 2 Chr 29:4–5Then he brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the square on the east side.
- Ps 38:4For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are a burden too heavy to bear.
- Num 5:31The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 44:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.