Numbers 18

1 And the Lord said to 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 sins of your priesthood.

And the LORD said unto Aaron: 'Thou and thy sons and thy fathers' 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 take with thee thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, and the sceptre of thy father, and let them be ready in hand, and minister to thee: but thou and thy sons shall minister in the tabernacle of the testimony.

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

3 And the Levites shall watch to do thy commands, and about all the works of the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary nor the altar, lest both they die, and you also perish with them.

And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the Tent; only they shall not come nigh unto the holy furniture and unto the altar, that they die not, neither they, nor ye.

4 But let them be with thee, and watch in the charge of the tabernacle, and in all the ceremonies thereof. A stranger shall not join himself with you.

And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, whatsoever the service of the Tent may be; but a common man shall not draw nigh unto you.

5 Watch ye in the charge of the sanctuary, and in the ministry of the altar: lest indignation rise upon the children of Israel.

And ye shall keep the charge of the holy things, and the charge of the altar, that there be wrath no more upon the children of Israel.

6 I have given you your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel, and have delivered them for a gift to the Lord, to serve in the ministries of the tabernacle.

And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; for you they are given as a gift unto the LORD, to do the service of the tent of meeting.

7 But thou and thy sons look ye to the priesthood: and all things that pertain to the service of the altar, and that are within the veil, shall be executed by the priests. If any stranger shall approach, he shall be slain.

And thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood in everything that pertaineth to the altar, and to that within the veil; and ye shall serve; I give you the priesthood as a service of gift; and the common man that draweth nigh shall be put to death.'

8 And the Lord said to Aaron: Behold I have given thee the charge of my firstfruits. All things that are sanctified by the children of Israel, I have delivered to thee and to thy sons for the priestly office, by everlasting ordinances.

And the LORD spoke unto Aaron: 'And I, behold, I have given thee the charge of My heave-offerings; even of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel unto thee have I given them for a consecrated portion, and to thy sons, as a due for ever.

9 These therefore shalt thou take of the things that are sanctified, and are offered to the Lord. Every offering, and sacrifice, and whatsoever is rendered to me for sin and for trespass, and becometh holy of holies, shall be for thee and thy sons.

This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, even every meal-offering of theirs, and every sin-offering of theirs, and every guilt-offering of theirs, which they may render unto Me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.

10 Thou shalt eat it in the sanctuary: the males only shall eat thereof, because it is a consecrated thing to thee.

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

11 But the firstfruits, which the children of Israel shall vow and offer, I have given to thee, and to thy sons, and to thy daughters, by a perpetual law. He that is clean in thy house, shall eat them.

And this is thine: the heave-offering of their gift, even 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, as a due for ever; every one that is clean in thy house may eat thereof.

12 All the best of the oil, and of the wine, and of the corn, whatsoever firstfruits they offer to the Lord, I have given them to thee.

All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the corn, the first part of them which they give unto the LORD, to thee have I given them.

13 All the firstripe of the fruits, that the ground bringeth forth, and which are brought to the Lord, shall be for thy use: he that is clean in thy house, shall eat them.

The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thy house may eat thereof.

14 Every thing that the children of Israel shall give by vow, shall be thine.

Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.

15 Whatsoever is firstborn of all flesh, which they offer to the Lord, whether it be of men, or of beasts, shall belong to thee: only for the firstborn of man thou shalt take a price, and every beast that is unclean thou shalt cause to be redeemed,

Every thing that openeth the womb, of all flesh which they offer unto the LORD, both of man and beast, shall be thine; howbeit the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

16 And the redemption of it shall be after one month, for five sicles of silver, by the weight of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols.

And their redemption-money — from a month old shalt thou redeem them — shall be, according to thy valuation, five shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary — the same is twenty gerahs.

17 But the firstling of a cow and of a sheep and of a goat thou shalt not cause to be redeemed, because they are sanctified to the Lord. Their blood only thou shalt pour upon the altar, and their fat thou shalt burn for a most sweet odour 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: thou shalt dash their blood against the altar, and shalt make their fat smoke for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD.

18 But the flesh shall fall to thy use, as the consecrated breast, and the right shoulder shall be thine.

And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave-breast and as the right thigh, it shall be thine.

19 All the firstfruits of the sanctuary which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to thee and to thy sons and daughters, by a perpetual ordinance. It is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord, to thee and to thy sons.

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, as a due for ever; it is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee.'

20 And the Lord said to Aaron: You shall possess nothing in their land, neither shall you have a portion among them: I am thy portion and inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel.

And the LORD said unto Aaron: 'Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any portion among them; I am thy portion and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

21 And I have given to the sons of Levi all the tithes of Israel for a possession for the ministry wherewith they serve me in the tabernacle of the covenant:

And unto the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting.

22 That the children of Israel may not approach any more to the tabernacle, nor commit deadly sin,

And henceforth the children of Israel shall not come nigh the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin, and die.

23 But only the sons of Levi may serve me in the tabernacle, and bear the sins of the people. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in your generations. They shall not possess any other thing,

But the Levites alone shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

24 But be content with the oblation or tithes, which I have separated for their uses and necessities.

For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they set apart as a gift unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said unto them: Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.'

25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:

26 Command the Levites, and declare unto them: When you shall receive of the children of Israel the tithes, which I have given you, offer the firstfruits of them to the Lord, that is to say, the tenth part of the tenth:

'Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites, and say unto them: When ye take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall set apart of it a gift for the LORD, even a tithe of the tithe.

27 That it may be reckoned to you as an oblation of firstfruits, as well of the barnfloors as of the winepresses:

And the gift which ye set apart shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshing-floor, and as the fulness of the wine-press.

28 And of all the things of which you receive tithes, offer the firstfruits to the Lord, and give them to Aaron the priest.

Thus ye also shall set apart a gift unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and thereof ye shall give the gift which is set apart unto the LORD to Aaron the priest.

29 All the things that you shall offer of the tithes, and shall separate for the gifts of the Lord, shall be the best and choicest things.

Out of all that is given you ye shall set apart all of that which is due unto the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.

30 And thou shalt say to them: If you offer all the goodly and the better things of the tithes, it shall be reckoned to you as if you had given the firstfruits of the barnfloor and the winepress:

Therefore thou shalt say unto them: When ye set apart the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshing-floor, and as the increase of the wine-press.

31 And you shall eat them in all your places, both you and your families: because it is your reward for the ministry, wherewith you serve in the tabernacle of the testimony.

And ye may eat it in every place, ye and your households; for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting.

32 And you shall not sin in this point, by reserving the choicest and fat things to yourselves, lest you profane the oblations of the children of Israel, and die.

And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, seeing that ye have set apart from it the best thereof; and ye shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, that ye die not.'