18 The Lord said to Aaron, ‘You and your sons and your family will be guilty for any wrong thing that happens in my Holy Tent. You and your sons will be guilty for any wrong thing that a priest does. 2 Bring the people of your tribe, the Levites, to the Tent of Meeting. 3 They must take care of the Tent of Meeting on your behalf. You must tell them what they should do. They must not go near anything that is inside God's Holy Place or the altar. If they do, they will die, and you will die too. 4 The Levites must work with you as they take care of the Tent of Meeting. No other people have authority to come near you as you work there.
5 You must take care of God's Holy Place and the altar. Then I will not be angry with the Israelites again. 6 I have chosen your family, the Levites, from among the other Israelite tribes. They are the Lord 's gift to you, to help you take care of the Tent of Meeting. 7 But only you, Aaron, and your sons will serve me as priests. You will work at the altar and in the Holy Place behind the curtain. I have chosen you to serve me as my priests. That is my gift to you. Any other person who comes near the Holy Place must die.’
8 The Lord said to Aaron, ‘I give you authority over the things that people offer to me. As priests, part of the gifts that people bring will belong to you and your sons. This rule will always be true for you and your descendants. 9 I am giving to you the parts that do not burn on the altar. A part of all these gifts will belong to you: grain offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings. These are holy gifts and they belong to you and to your sons. 10 All the men in your family may eat these gifts. Remember that they are holy gifts.
11 Also, you will receive part of the special gifts that the Israelites lift up in front of me. I have given it to you and to your sons and daughters, for all time. Every person who lives in your house may eat it. But they must be clean at the time.
12 I will give to you the best olive oil, the best wine and the best grain. The people give to the Lord the first part of these that they get. 13 I also give to you the best parts of the food that people bring to the Lord . Any clean person who lives in your house may eat them.
14 Everything in Israel that should belong to me is now yours. 15 I give to you every firstborn animal and male child that people offer to the Lord . But you must pay the price for every firstborn son and for every firstborn male animal that is not clean. 16 When they are one month old, you must buy them from me for five shekels of silver each. The shekel must have the same weight as the shekel that the Levites use in God's Holy Tent. There are 20 gerahs in one shekel.
17 You must not pay for the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat. Those animals are holy. Splash the blood from those animals on the altar and burn the fat from them. The smell will make the Lord happy. 18 And the meat of those animals belongs to you. In the same way, the meat of the ribs and the right back leg of the special gifts that you lift up to me also belong to you. [ a ]
19 I have given all the gifts that the Israelites offer to the Lord to you, your sons and your daughters. That is a rule for all time. That is the Lord 's special promise to you and to your descendants for all time.’
20 Then the Lord said to Aaron, ‘You priests and your descendants will have no land, like the other tribes do. You will not share in the things that they receive. I myself am the gift that you receive.
21 The Israelites give to me one tenth of everything that they receive. I will give it to the Levites because they serve me in the Tent of Meeting. 22 The other Israelites must not come near the Tent of Meeting again. If they do come near it, they will be guilty and then they will die. 23 Only the Levites must do the work in the Tent of Meeting. And if they do anything wrong there, they will be guilty. That will be a rule for you and for all your descendants. The Levites will not receive any land like the other Israelites do. 24 That is because I have given to the Levites the tithes that the Israelites offer to the Lord . I have told them, “You will not receive any land, like the other Israelites do.” I have given the tithes to them instead.’
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 ‘You must say to the Levites, “You will receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given to you from them. I have not given any land to you. I have given the tithes to you instead. When you receive those tithes, you must offer one tenth of it to the Lord . That will be a tithe of the tithe. 27 This gift will be the same as when a farmer is giving grain or wine to me. It will be special. 28 So you will give something to the Lord from the tithes that you receive from the Israelites. You must give that part to Aaron the priest. 29 From all the gifts that the people give to you, you must make separate every offering that the Lord should have. The best part of each gift is the part that you must make separate for the Lord .”
30 You must say to the Levites, “After you have made the best part of the gift separate for the priests, the other part will belong to the Levites. That will be the grain and the wine that you receive for your food. 31 That is what you receive because you take care of the Tent of Meeting. You and your family may eat it anywhere that you choose. 32 You will not be guilty when you eat it. That is because you have offered the best part of it to God. But you must do that in the right way. The gifts that you receive from the Israelites are holy. If you do not do the right things with them, you will die.” ’
18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and all the people in your father’s family must bear the responsibility for any wrong that is done against the holy place or against the priests. 2 To prevent that from happening, you must bring the rest of the men from the tribe of Levi to join you. These Levites will help you and your sons do your work in the Tent of the Agreement. 3 These Levites will be under your control. They will do all the work that needs to be done in the Tent. But they must not go near the things in the Holy Place or the altar. If they do, they will die—and you also will die. 4 They will join you and work with you. They will be responsible for caring for the Meeting Tent. All the work that must be done in the Tent will be done by them. No one else may come near the place where you are.
5 “You are responsible for caring for the holy place and the altar. I don’t want to become angry with the Israelites again. 6 I myself chose the Levites from among all the Israelites. They are as a gift to you. I gave them to you to serve the Lord and work in the Meeting Tent. 7 But, Aaron, only you and your sons may serve as priests. You are the only ones who can go near the altar or behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place. I am giving you a gift—your service as a priest. Anyone else who tries to come too close must be killed.”
8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself gave you responsibility over all the special gifts people give to me. All the holy gifts that the Israelites give to me, I give to you. You and your sons can share in these gifts. They will always belong to you. 9 The people will bring gifts, grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. These offerings are most holy. Your share in the most holy offerings will come from the parts that are not burned. All these things will be for you and your sons. 10 Eat these things only in a very holy place. Every male in your family may eat them, but you must remember that these offerings are holy.
11 “The Israelites will bring special gifts that you will lift up to me. I give these gifts to you and your sons and daughters. That is your share. Everyone in your family who is clean will be able to eat it.
12 “And I give you all the best olive oil and all the best new wine and grain. These are the things that the Israelites give to me, the Lord . These are the first things that they gather in their harvest. 13 When the people gather a harvest, they bring all the first things to the Lord . So these things I will give to you. And everyone in your family who is clean may eat it.
14 “Anything in Israel that is a special gift to God [ a ] is yours.
15 “A woman’s first baby and an animal’s first baby must be given to the Lord . That baby will belong to you. If the firstborn animal is unclean, then it must be bought back. If the baby is a child, that child must be bought back. 16 They must make the payment when the baby is one month old. The cost will be 5 shekels [ b ] of silver. You must use the official measure to weigh this silver. A shekel by the official measure is 20 gerahs. [ c ]
17 “But you must not make a payment for the firstborn cow, sheep, or goat. These animals are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord . 18 But the meat from these animals will be yours. And also the breast that was lifted up to the Lord will be yours. And the right thigh from other offerings will be yours. 19 I, the Lord , give you everything that the people offer as holy gifts. This is your share. I give it to you and your sons and daughters. This law will continue forever. It is an agreement with the Lord that cannot be broken. [ d ] I make this promise to you and to your descendants.”
20 The Lord also said to Aaron, “You will not get any of the land. And you will not own anything that the other people own. I myself will be yours. The Israelites will get the land that I promised, but I am my gift to you.
21 “The Israelites will give one-tenth of everything they have. So I give that one-tenth to the Levites. This is their payment for the work that they do while they serve at the Meeting Tent. 22 But the other Israelites must never go near that Meeting Tent. If they do, they must be put to death! 23 The Levites will do the work of caring for the Meeting Tent. They must bear the responsibility for anything done against it. This is a law that will continue forever. The Levites will not get any of the land that I promised to the other Israelites. 24 But the Israelites will give one-tenth of everything they have to the Lord , and I will give that one-tenth to the Levites. That is why I said these words about the Levites: They will not get the land that I promised the Israelites.”
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “Speak to the Levites and tell them: The Israelites will give one-tenth of everything they own to the Lord . That one-tenth will belong to the Levites. But you must give one-tenth of that to the Lord as your offering. 27 That tenth will be your offering to the Lord. It will be like grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own winepress. 28 In this way you will also give an offering to the Lord just as the other Israelites do. You will get the one-tenth that the Israelites give to the Lord , and then you will give one-tenth of that to Aaron the priest. 29 When the Israelites give you one-tenth of everything that they own, then you must give the best and the holiest part of these things as your gift to the Lord .
30 “Moses, tell this to the Levites: When you give the best part of what you receive to the Lord, it will be the same as grain from your own threshing floor and wine from your own winepress. 31 You and your families can eat all that is left. This is your payment for the work you do in the Meeting Tent. 32 And if you always give the best part of it to the Lord, you will never be guilty. You will always remember that these gifts are the holy offerings from the Israelites. And you will not die.”
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.
2 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 minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.
3 And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.
4 And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.
5 And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.
6 And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the Lord , to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7 Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for everything of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
8 And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.
9 This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of their's, every meat offering of their's, and every sin offering of their's, and every trespass offering of their's which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.
10 In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.
11 And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one 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 them which they shall offer unto the Lord , them have I given thee.
13 And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the Lord , shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.
14 Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.
15 Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the Lord , whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.
16 And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.
17 But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the Lord .
18 And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine.
19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord , have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee.
20 And the Lord spake 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 children of Israel.
21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
22 Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.
23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.
24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord , I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
25 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the Lord , even a tenth part of the tithe.
27 And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.
28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the Lord of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the Lord 'S heave offering to Aaron the priest.
29 Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the Lord , of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.
30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.
31 And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.
32 And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.
18 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your father’s household with you shall ( A ) bear the guilt [ a ] in connection with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt [ b ] in connection with your priesthood. 2 But also bring your brothers with you, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may ( B ) join you and serve you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3 And they shall perform duties for you and the duties of the whole tent, but ( C ) they shall not come near the furnishings of the sanctuary and ( D ) the altar, or both they and you will die. 4 They shall join you and perform the duties of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but [ c ] an unauthorized person shall not come near you. 5 So you shall perform the ( E ) duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, ( F ) so that there will no longer be wrath on the sons of Israel. 6 Behold, I Myself ( G ) have taken your [ d ] fellow Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are ( H ) a gift to you, [ e ] dedicated to the Lord , to perform the service for the tent of meeting. 7 But you and your sons with you shall ( I ) attend to your priesthood for everything that concerns the altar and inside the veil, and you are to perform service. I am giving you the priesthood as ( J ) a [ f ] service that is a gift, and ( K ) the [ g ] unauthorized person who comes near shall be put to death.”
8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Now behold, I Myself have put you in charge of My [ h ] ( L ) offerings, all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given to you as a portion and to your sons as a permanent allotment. 9 This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire; every offering of theirs, namely ( M ) every grain offering, every ( N ) sin offering, and every guilt offering, with which they shall make restitution to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. 10 As the most holy gifts you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you. 11 This also is yours, ( O ) the offering of their gift, that is, all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have ( P ) given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a permanent allotment. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. 12 ( Q ) All the [ i ] best of the fresh oil and all the [ j ] best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of what they give to the Lord , I have given them to you. 13 ( R ) The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord , shall be yours; everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. 14 ( S ) Everything banned from secular use in Israel shall be yours. 15 [ k ] ( T ) Every firstborn of the womb of all flesh, whether human or animal, which they offer to the Lord , shall be yours; however you must redeem the human firstborn, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 As to [ l ] their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your assessment, five [ m ] shekels in silver by the [ n ] shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 17 But ( U ) the firstborn of an ox, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. ( V ) You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a soothing aroma to the Lord . 18 However, their [ o ] meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the ( W ) breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh. 19 ( X ) All the offerings of the holy gifts , which the sons of Israel offer to the Lord , I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a permanent allotment. It is ( Y ) a permanent covenant of salt before the Lord to you and your [ p ] descendants with you.” 20 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “ ( Z ) You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; ( AA ) I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.
21 “To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the ( AB ) tithe in Israel as an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. 22 And ( AC ) the sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, or they will bring sin on themselves and die. 23 Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall ( AD ) bear their own guilt; it shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel ( AE ) they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the Lord , I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘ ( AF ) They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’”
25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the sons of Israel ( AG ) the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord , a ( AH ) tithe of the tithe. 27 Your offering shall be credited to you like the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat. 28 So you shall also present an offering to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the Lord ’ s offering to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the Lord , from all the [ q ] best of them, [ r ] the sacred part from them.’ 30 And you shall say to them, ‘When you have [ s ] offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be credited to the Levites like the product of the threshing floor, and like the product of the wine vat. 31 You may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your compensation in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 And you will bring on yourselves no sin by reason of it when you have [ t ] offered the [ u ] best of it. But you shall not ( AI ) profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, so that you do not die.’”
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. 2 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. 3 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 ) 4 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 )
5 “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. 6 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 ) 7 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 ) ”
8 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 ) 9 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.’”
