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18 ¶ And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee and serve thee; but thou and thy sons with thee shall serve before the tabernacle of the testimony.

And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle; only they shall not come near the holy vessels or the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

And they shall join themselves unto thee and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony in all the service of the tabernacle; and no stranger shall come near unto you.

And ye shall have the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar, that there be no more wrath upon the sons of Israel.

For behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the sons of Israel, given unto you as a gift of the LORD, to serve in the ministry of the tabernacle of the testimony.

Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood for every thing of the altar and within the veil, and ye shall minister; for I have given the service of your priesthood as a gift, and the stranger that comes near shall die.

¶ The LORD spoke further unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of my offerings; all the dedicated things of the sons of Israel I have given unto thee by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by a perpetual statute.

This shall be thine of the holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every present of theirs, and every offering that represents their sin, and every offering that represents their guilt, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.

10 In the sanctuary shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it; it shall be holy unto thee.

11 This also shall be thine: the heave offering of their gifts. All the wave offerings of the sons of Israel, I have given them unto thee and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever; everyone that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

12 All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the wheat, the firstfruits of this, which they shall present unto the LORD, this have I given thee.

13 The firstfruits of theirs of all the things of the land, which they shall bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; everyone that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

14 Every anathema in Israel shall be thine.

15 Every thing that opens the womb in all flesh, which they shall offer unto the LORD, whether it is of men or animals, shall be thine; nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely ransom, and the firstborn of unclean animals shalt thou ransom.

16 And from a month old shalt thou effect their ransom, a ransom according to thine estimation, for the price of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

17 But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, thou shalt not ransom; they are sanctified; thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar and shalt burn their fat for an offering on fire, for an acceptable savour unto the LORD.

18 And the flesh shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder shall be thine.

19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the sons of Israel offer unto the LORD, I have given for thee and for thy sons and for thy daughters with thee, by a perpetual statute; it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD for thee and for thy seed with thee.

20 ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them. I am thy part and thine inheritance among the sons of Israel.

21 And, behold, I have given the sons of Levi all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their ministry because they serve in the ministry of the tabernacle of the testimony.

22 Neither must the sons of Israel from now on come near the tabernacle of the testimony lest they bear sin and die because of it.

23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the testimony, and they shall bear their iniquity by a perpetual statute throughout your ages, and they shall not possess an inheritance among the sons of Israel.

24 For unto the Levites I have given the tithes of the sons of Israel as inheritance, which they shall offer unto the LORD as offerings; therefore, I have said unto them, Among the sons of Israel they shall possess no inheritance.

25 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

26 Thus shalt thou speak unto the Levites and say unto them, When ye take the tithes from the sons of Israel which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall present a tithe of the tithes as an offering unto the LORD.

27 And ye shall count your offering as though it were the grain of the threshingfloor and as the fullness of the winepress.

28 Thus ye also shall offer an offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye shall have received of the sons of Israel; and ye shall give of them an offering unto the LORD, to Aaron the priest.

29 Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every offering unto the LORD, of all the best thereof ye shall offer the portion that is to be dedicated.

30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye offer the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the fruit of the threshingfloor and as the fruit of the winepress.

31 And ye shall eat it in any place, ye and your family; for it is your reward for your ministry in the tabernacle of the testimony.

32 And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have offered from it the best of it; and ye shall not pollute the holy things of the sons of Israel, and ye shall not die.

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary,(A) and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood. Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister(B) before the tent of the covenant law. They are to be responsible to you(C) and are to perform all the duties of the tent,(D) but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar. Otherwise both they and you will die.(E) They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting—all the work at the tent—and no one else may come near where you are.(F)

“You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar,(G) so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelites again. I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you,(H) dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the tent of meeting.(I) But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain.(J) I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift.(K) Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.(L)

Offerings for Priests and Levites

Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion,(M) your perpetual share.(N) You are to have the part of the most holy offerings(O) that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain(P) or sin[a](Q) or guilt offerings,(R) that part belongs to you and your sons. 10 Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it.(S) You must regard it as holy.(T)

11 “This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings(U) of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share.(V) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean(W) may eat it.

12 “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain(X) they give the Lord(Y) as the firstfruits of their harvest.(Z) 13 All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours.(AA) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.(AB)

14 “Everything in Israel that is devoted[b] to the Lord(AC) is yours. 15 The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours.(AD) But you must redeem(AE) every firstborn(AF) son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.(AG) 16 When they are a month old,(AH) you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels[c](AI) of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel,(AJ) which weighs twenty gerahs.(AK)

17 “But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat; they are holy.(AL) Splash their blood(AM) against the altar and burn their fat(AN) as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(AO) 18 Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering(AP) and the right thigh are yours.(AQ) 19 Whatever is set aside from the holy(AR) offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt(AS) before the Lord for both you and your offspring.”

20 The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them;(AT) I am your share and your inheritance(AU) among the Israelites.

21 “I give to the Levites all the tithes(AV) in Israel as their inheritance(AW) in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.(AX) 22 From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die.(AY) 23 It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance(AZ) for the generations to come.(BA) They will receive no inheritance(BB) among the Israelites.(BC) 24 Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord.(BD) That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”

25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you(BE) as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering.(BF) 27 Your offering will be reckoned(BG) to you as grain from the threshing floor(BH) or juice from the winepress.(BI) 28 In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes(BJ) you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. 29 You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’

30 “Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress.(BK) 31 You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting.(BL) 32 By presenting the best part(BM) of it you will not be guilty in this matter;(BN) then you will not defile the holy offerings(BO) of the Israelites, and you will not die.’”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 18:9 Or purification
  2. Numbers 18:14 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
  3. Numbers 18:16 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams