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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

14 Every thing devoted in Israel 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

25 And the Lord spoke unto 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.