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.

Yahweh said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your ancestor's clan will be responsible for all sins committed against the sanctuary. But only you and your sons with you will be responsible for all sins committed by anyone in the 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.

As for your fellow members of the tribe of Levi, your ancestors' tribe, you must bring them with you so they may join you and help you when you and your sons serve in front of the tent of the covenant decrees.

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.

They must serve you and the whole tent. However, they must not come near to anything in the holy place or connected with the altar, or they and also you will die.

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.

They must join you and take care of the tent of meeting, for all the work connected with the tent. A foreigner must not come near 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.

You must take responsibility for the holy place and for the altar so that my anger does not come on the people of Israel again.

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.

Look, I myself have chosen your fellow members of the Levites from among the descendants of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to me to do the work connected to the tent of meeting.

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 only you and your sons may exercise the priesthood regarding everything connected with the altar and everything inside the curtain. You yourselves must fulfill those responsibilities. I am giving you the priesthood as a gift. Any foreigner who approaches must 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.

Then Yahweh said to Aaron, “Look, I have given you the duty of handling the offerings raised up to me, and all the holy offerings that the people of Israel give to me. I have given these offerings to you and your sons as your ongoing share.

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.

This will belong to you from the most holy things that is kept from the fire. From every offering of theirs—every grain offering, every sin offering, and every guilt offering—they are set apart to you and to your sons.

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

These offerings are very holy; every male must eat it, for they are holy to you.

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.

These are the offerings that will belong to you, set apart out of all their gifts of the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, your sons, and your daughters, as your portion forever. Everyone who is ceremonially clean in your family may eat any of these offerings.

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, all the best of the new wine and grain, the firstfruits that the people give to me—all these things I have given to you.

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.

The first ripe produce of all that is in their land, which they bring to me, will be yours. Everyone who is clean in your family may eat these things.

14 Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.

Every devoted thing in Israel will be yours.

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.

Everything that opens the womb, all the firstborn which the people offer to Yahweh, both of man and animal, will be yours. Nevertheless, the people must certainly buy back every firstborn son, and they must buy back the firstborn male of unclean animals.

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.

Those that are to be bought back by the people must be bought back after becoming one month old. Then the people may buy them back, for the price of five shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel, which equals 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.

But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat—you must not buy back these animals; they are set apart to me. You must sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to Yahweh.

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

Their meat will be yours. Like the raised breast and the right thigh, their meat will be yours.

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 holy offerings that the people of Israel present to Yahweh, I have given to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a continual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt, a binding covenant forever, before Yahweh for both you and your descendants with you.”

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.

Yahweh said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in the people's land, nor will you have any share of property among the people. I am your share and inheritance among the people 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.

To the descendants of Levi, look, I have given all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the service that they provide in working at the tent of meeting.

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

From now on the people of Israel must not come near the tent of meeting, or they will be responsible for this sin and die.

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.

The Levites must do the work connected to the tent of meeting. They will be responsible for any sin regarding it. This will be a permanent law throughout your people's generations. Among the people of Israel they must have no 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.

For the tithes of the people of Israel, which they offer as a contribution to me—it is these that I have given to the Levites as their inheritance. That is why I said to them, 'They must have no inheritance among the people of Israel.'”

25 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

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.

“You must speak to the Levites and say to them, 'When you receive from the people of Israel the tenth that I have given to you from them for your inheritance, you will present a contribution from it to Yahweh, a tenth 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.

Your contribution must be considered by you as if it were a tenth of the grain from the threshing floor or of the production from the winepress.

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.

So you also must make a contribution to Yahweh from all the tithes that you receive from the people of Israel. From them you must give his contribution 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.

Out of all the gifts you receive, you must make every contribution to Yahweh. You must do this from all the best and the holiest things that have been given to you.'

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.

Therefore you must say to them, 'When you present the best of it, then it must be credited to the Levites as the product from the threshing floor 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.

You may eat the rest of your gifts in any place, you and your families, because it is your pay in return for your work in the tent of meeting.

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.

You will not incur any guilt by eating and drinking it, if you have presented to Yahweh the best of what you have received. But you must not profane the holy offerings of the people of Israel, or you will die.'”