Numbers 18

1 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.

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.

2 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.

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.

3 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.

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.

4 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.

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.

5 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.

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

6 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.

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.

7 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.

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.

8 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.

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.

9 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.

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.

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

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

11 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.

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.

12 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.

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.

13 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.

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.

14 Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.

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

15 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.

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,

16 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.

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.

17 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.

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.

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

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

19 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.

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.

20 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.

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.

21 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.

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:

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

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

23 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.

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,

24 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.

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

25 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

26 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.

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:

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

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

28 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.

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

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

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.

30 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.

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:

31 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.

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.

32 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.

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.