1And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father' house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.2And 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.3And 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.4And 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.5And 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.6And 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.7Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest' office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest' office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.8And 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.9This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.10In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.11And 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.12All 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.13And 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.14Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.15Every 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.16And 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.17But 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.18And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine.19All 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.20And 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.21And, 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.22Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.23But 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.24But 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.25And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,26Thus 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.27And 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.28Thus 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' heave offering to Aaron the priest.29Out 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.30Therefore 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.31And 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.32And 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.
Numbers 18
English Standard Version
Duties of Priests and Levites
1So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. (Ex 28:38; Nu 18:23)2And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. (Ge 29:34; Nu 3:6)3They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die. (Nu 3:25; Nu 3:31; Nu 3:36; Nu 4:15; Nu 16:40)4They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you. (Nu 17:13)5And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. (Ex 27:21; Ex 30:7; Le 10:6; Le 24:3; Nu 3:38)6And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. (Nu 3:9; Nu 3:12; Nu 3:45; Nu 8:19)7And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift,[1] and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” (Nu 1:51; Nu 3:10; Heb 9:3; Heb 9:6)8Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Behold, I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due. (Ex 29:29; Ex 40:13; Ex 40:15; Le 7:32; Nu 5:9)9This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every sin offering of theirs and every guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons. (Le 4:22; Le 4:27; Le 6:25; Le 7:7; Le 14:13)10In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it; it is holy to you.11This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. (Ex 29:27; Le 7:30; Le 7:34; Le 10:14; Le 22:2; Le 22:11; De 18:3)12All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you. (Ex 23:19; Ex 34:26; De 18:4; Ne 10:35)13The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. (Ex 22:29; Le 2:14; Nu 18:11; De 26:2)14Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. (Le 27:28)15Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. (Ex 13:2; Ex 13:13; Ex 34:20)16And their redemption price (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels[2] in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. (Ex 30:13; Le 27:2; Le 27:6; Nu 3:47)17But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. (De 15:19)18But their flesh shall be yours, as the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours. (Ex 29:26; Ex 29:28; Le 7:31; Le 7:34)19All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.” (Le 2:13; Nu 18:11; 2Ch 13:5)20And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel. (Nu 18:23; De 10:9; De 12:12; De 14:27; De 18:1; Jos 13:33; Jos 14:3; Jos 18:7; Eze 44:28)21“To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, (Ge 14:20; Ge 28:22; Le 27:30; Le 27:32; Nu 18:24; Nu 18:26; De 14:22; Ne 10:37; Ne 12:44; Heb 7:5; Heb 7:8)22so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. (Le 22:9; Nu 1:51)23But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. (Nu 3:7; Nu 18:1)24For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.” (Nu 18:19; Nu 18:20; Nu 18:26; Nu 18:29)25And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,26“Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe. (Ne 10:38)27And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. (Nu 18:30)28So you shall also present a contribution to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the Lord’s contribution to Aaron the priest.29Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the Lord; from each its best part is to be dedicated.’30Therefore you shall say to them, ‘When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress. (Nu 18:27)31And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting. (Mt 10:10; Lu 10:7; 1Co 9:4; 1Ti 5:17)32And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.’” (Le 19:8; Le 22:2; Le 22:15; Le 22:16)