Deuteronomy 12 · Verse 19

Deuteronomy 12:19

Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
Deuteronomy 12:19, King James Version

Deuteronomy 12:19 in other translations

BSBand be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
WEBBe careful that you don’t forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.
ASVTake heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest in thy land.
YLTtake heed to thee lest thou forsake the Levite all thy days on thy ground.
DARBYTake heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite all the days thou shalt be in thy land.
BBESee that you do not give up caring for the Levite as long as you are living in your land.
WebsterTake heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.

What does Deuteronomy 12:19 mean?

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, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 12:5-32

The command to bring ALL the sacrifices to the door of the tabernacle, was now explained with reference to the promised land. As to moral service, then, as now, men might pray and worship every where, as they did in their synagogues. The place which God would choose, is said to be the place where he would put his name. It was to be his habitation, where, as King of Israel, he would be found by all who reverently…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 12:5-32 →

Deuteronomy 12:19 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הִשָּׁ֣מֶרhi.Sha.mertake heedH8104
לְךָ֔le.Khato yourself
פֶּֽן\־pen-lestH6435
תַּעֲזֹ֖בta.'a.Zoyou should neglectH5800
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַלֵּוִ֑יha.le.Vithe LeviteH3881
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
יָמֶ֖יךָya.Mei.khadays yourH3117
עַל\־'al-onH5921
אַדְמָתֶֽךָ\׃\ \ס'ad.ma.Te.khaland yourH127

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 12:19

  • 2 Chronicles 31:4-21

    Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord. And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the Lord their God, and laid them by heaps. In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. …

  • Nehemiah 10:34-39

    And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law: And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the Lord: Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God: And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage. …

  • 2 Chronicles 11:13-14

    And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts. For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the Lord:

  • 1 Corinthians 9:10-14

    Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? …

  • Deuteronomy 14:27-29

    And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Take.
14:27-29; 2Ch 11:13,14; 31:4-21; Ne 10:34-39; 1Co 9:10-14
as long, etc. Heb. all thy days.
1

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Deuteronomy 12:18

    But thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.

  • Deuteronomy 12:19

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

  • Deuteronomy 12:20

    When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.

Read all of Deuteronomy 12

Deuteronomy 12:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Ten cuidado de no desamparar al Levita en todos tus días sobre tu tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Prends garde à toi, de peur que tu ne délaisses le Lévite, tous les jours que tu seras sur ta terre.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Hüte dich, daß du den Leviten nicht verlässest, alle deine Tage in deinem Lande.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cave ne derelinquas Levitem in omni tempore quo versaris in terra.