Numbers 18

1 And Yhwh 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.

The Lord told Aaron, “You and your sons and the other Levites bear the responsibility for sins relating to the sanctuary. You and your sons alone bear the responsibility for sins relating to 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.

Have your brothers from the tribe of Levi, your father's tribe, join you to help you and your sons with your service in the Tent of the Testimony.

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.

They will take care of your responsibilities and those relating to the Tent, but they must not come too close to the sacred objects of the sanctuary or the altar, otherwise they will die, and you will too.

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.

They are to help you and take care of the responsibilities of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work at the Tent, but they are not allowed to be with you during your priestly ministry.

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.

You are to carry out the responsibilities relating to the sanctuary and the altar, so that my anger will not fall on the Israelites again.

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 Yhwh, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Look, I myself have chosen your brothers the Levites from the Israelites as my gift to you, dedicated to the Lord to do the work that relates the Tent of Meeting.

7 Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing 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.

But only you and your sons are responsible for your priesthood, doing all that concerns the altar and is behind the veil. Only you are to perform that service. I am giving you the gift of your priesthood, but anyone else who approaches the sanctuary must be executed.”

8 And Yhwh 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.

The Lord told Aaron, “Listen, I have put you in charge of officiating at my offerings. All the holy contributions of the Israelites that they bring are reserved for you, and this is a permanent rule.

9 This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every grain 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.

Part of the most holy offerings taken from the burnt offerings are yours. Part of all the offerings they give me as most holy offerings, whether it's grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.

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

You shall eat it in a most holy place. Every male is allowed to eat it. You are to regard it as something holy.

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.

The following also belongs to you: the voluntary gifts as well as all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given this to you and your sons and daughters as a permanent rule. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean is allowed to eat 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 Yhwh, them have I given thee.

I am giving you all the best olive oil and all the best new wine and grain that the Israelites give as firstfruits to the Lord.

13 And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto Yhwh, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.

The firstfruits of all the crops they produce in their land that they bring to the Lord are yours. Everyone in your family who is ceremonially clean is allowed to eat them.

14 Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.

Everything in Israel that is dedicated to the Lord is yours.

15 Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto Yhwh, 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.

Every firstborn, whether human or animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours. But you must buy back every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.

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.

When they are one month old you shall pay the redemption price of five shekels of silver, (using the sanctuary shekel standard), equivalent to 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 Yhwh.

But you are not allowed to redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat because they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as a burnt offering accepted by the Lord.

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

Their meat is yours, in the same way that the breast and right thigh of the wave offering are yours.

19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto Yhwh, 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 Yhwh unto thee and to thy seed with thee.

I am giving all the voluntary gifts that the Israelites present to the Lord to you and to your sons and daughters as a permanent rule. It is a permanent agreement of salt before the Lord for you and your descendants.”

20 And Yhwh 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.

“You won't possess property in their country, and you won't have a share in their land. I am your share and your possession among the Israelites.

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.

Instead I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel as compensation for the service they provide in doing the work in the Tent of Meeting.

22 Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.

The Israelites are no longer allowed to approach the Tent of Meeting, or they will commit an offense 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.

The Levites are to carry out the work in the Tent of Meeting, and they must take responsibility for any sins involved. This is a permanent rule for all future generations. The Levites won't receive a share of land among the Israelites.

24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto Yhwh, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Instead I have given to the Levites as their compensation the tithe that the Israelites give to the Lord as a contribution. That's why I told them that they wouldn't receive a share of land among the Israelites.”

25 And Yhwh spake unto Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

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 Yhwh, even a tenth part of the tithe.

“Talk to the Levites and explain to them, ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your compensation, you must return part of it as an offering to the Lord: a tithe of the tithe.

27 And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the grain of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.

Your offering will be considered as if it were the firstfruits of grain from your threshing floor or grape juice from the winepress.

28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto Yhwh of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof Yhwh's heave offering to Aaron the priest.

In this way you are to contribute an offering to the Lord from every tithe you receive from the Israelites, giving the Lord's offering to Aaron the priest.

29 Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of Yhwh, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.

From all the gifts you receive you are to contribute as the Lord's offering the very best, the holiest part of every gift.’

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.

So tell the Levites, ‘When you have presented the best part, it will be considered as your contribution produced by your threshing floor or 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.

You and your families may eat it anywhere because it's compensation for your service in the Tent of Meeting.

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.

You will not be considered to have sinned if you have presented the best part of it. But if you treat the sacred offerings of the Israelites with disrespect you will die.’”