Numbers 18

1 So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house must bear the iniquity involving the sanctuary. And you and your sons alone must bear the iniquity involving your priesthood.

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 But bring with you also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and assist you and your sons before the Tent of the Testimony.

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

3 And they shall attend to your duties and to all the duties of the Tent; but they must not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die.

And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only unto the vessels of the sanctuary and unto the altar shall they not come near, that they may not die, either they or you.

4 They are to join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work at the Tent; but no outsider may come near you.

And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, respecting all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.

5 And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.

And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar; that there be not any more wrath upon the children of Israel.

6 Behold, I Myself have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to perform the service for the Tent of Meeting.

And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel; unto you are they given as a gift for the Lord, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

7 But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

And thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood concerning every matter of the altar, and for that within the vail, where ye shall serve: as a service of gift do I give you your priesthood; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

8 Then the LORD said to Aaron, “Behold, I have put you in charge of My offerings. As for all the sacred offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute.

And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, And I, behold, I give thee the charge of my heave-offerings; of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel, unto thee have I given them as an official portion, and to thy sons, as a fixed right for ever.

9 A portion of the most holy offerings reserved from the fire will be yours. From all the offerings they render to Me as most holy offerings, whether grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.

This shall belong to thee of the most holy things, from the fire-[offerings]: every oblation of theirs, namely, every meat-offering of theirs, and every sin-offering of theirs, and every, trespass-offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall, as most holy things, belong to thee and to thy sons.

10 You are to eat it as a most holy offering, and every male may eat it. You shall regard it as holy.

In a most holy place shalt thou eat it: every male shall eat it; holy shall it be unto thee.

11 And this is yours as well: the offering of their gifts, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given this to you and your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat it.

And this shall be thine, as the heave-offering of their gift, of all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, as a fixed portion for ever: every one that is clean in thy house may eat thereof.

12 I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits.

All the best of oil, and all the best of wine, and of corn, the first-fruits thereof which they shall offer unto the Lord, to thee have I given them.

13 The firstfruits of everything in their land that they bring to the LORD will belong to you. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat them.

The first ripe fruit of whatsoever is in their land, which they may bring unto the Lord, shall be thine: every one that is clean in thy house may eat thereof.

14 Every devoted thing in Israel belongs to you.

Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.

15 The firstborn of every womb, whether man or beast, that is offered to the LORD belongs to you. But you must surely redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.

Whatever openeth the womb of all flesh, which they bring unto the Lord, be it of men or of cattle, shall be thine: nevertheless thou shalt redeem the first-born of man, and the firstling of the unclean cattle shalt thou redeem.

16 You are to pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your valuation: five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs.

And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to the usual estimation of five shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

17 But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

But the firstling of an ox, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: their blood shalt thou sprinkle upon the altar, and their fat shalt thou burn as a fire-offering, for a sweet savor unto the Lord.

18 And their meat belongs to you, just as the breast and right thigh of the wave offering belong to you.

And their flesh shall be thine: as the breast that is waved and as the right shoulder shall it be thine.

19 All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the LORD for you and your offspring.”

All the heave-offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel set apart unto the Lord, I have given to thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, as a fixed portion for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord for thee and for thy seed with thee.

20 Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.

And the Lord said unto Aaron, In their land shalt thou have no inheritance, and any portion shalt thou not have among them: I am thy portion and thy inheritance among the children of Israel.

21 Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

And to the children of Levi, behold, I have given every tithe in Israel, for an inheritance, in lieu of their service which they render, the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

22 No longer may the Israelites come near to the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die.

And the children of Israel shall not henceforth come nigh unto the tabernacle of the congregation, to bear sin, to die thereby.

23 The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.

But they of the tribe of Levi themselves shall perform the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: a statute for ever shall it be throughout your generations; and among the children of Israel shall they not possess any inheritance.

24 For I have given to the Levites as their inheritance the tithe that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.”

But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering unto the Lord, have I given to the Levites for an inheritance: therefore have I said unto them, Among the children of Israel shall they obtain no inheritance.

25 And the LORD instructed Moses,

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

26 “Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the LORD—a tithe of the tithe.

And unto the Levites shalt thou speak, and say unto them, When ye take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance: then shall ye separate therefrom a heave-offering of the Lord, the tenth part of the tithe.

27 Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.

And your heave-offering shall be reckoned unto you, like the corn of the threshing-floor, and as the fulness of the wine-press.

28 So you are to present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites, and from these you are to give the LORD’s offering to Aaron the priest.

Thus shall ye also offer a heave-offering unto the Lord from all your tithes, which ye may receive from the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the heave-offering of the Lord to Aaron the priest.

29 You must present the offering due the LORD from all the best of every gift, the holiest part of it.’

From all your gifts shall ye set apart every heave-offering of the Lord, from every best part thereof, its hallowed portion therefrom.

30 Therefore say to the Levites, ‘When you have presented the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the produce of the threshing floor or winepress.

And thou shalt say unto them, When ye have separated the best thereof from it: then shall [the remainder] be counted unto the Levites as the produce of the threshing-floor, and as the produce of the wine-press.

31 And you and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere; it is the compensation for your work at the Tent of Meeting.

And ye may eat it in every place, ye and your households; for it is your reward in lieu of your service at the tabernacle of the congregation.

32 Once you have presented the best part of it, you will not incur guilt because of it. But you must not defile the sacred offerings of the Israelites, or else you will die.’”

And ye shall not bear any sin by reason of it, when ye have separated its best part from it: and the holy things of the children of Israel shall ye not profane, lest ye die.