John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 1. And the Lord spake unto Aaron , etc.] 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.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-7 - The people complained of their difficulty and peril in drawing near to God. God here gives them to understand, that the priests should com near for them. Aaron would see reason not to be proud of his preferment, when he considered the great care and charge upon him. Be not high-minded, but fear. The greater the trust of work and power tha is committed to us, the greater danger there is of betraying tha trust. This is a good reason why we should neither envy others honours, nor desire high places.
Original Hebrew ויאמר559 יהוה3068 אל413 אהרן175 אתה859 ובניך1121 ובית1004 אביך1 אתך854 תשׂאו5375 את853 עון5771 המקדשׁ4720 ואתה859 ובניך1121 אתך854 תשׂאו5375 את853 עון5771 כהנתכם׃3550
