Numbers 18

1 And the Lord seide to Aaron, Thou, and thi sones, and the hows of thi fadir with thee, schulen bere the wickidnesse of the seyntuarie; and thou and thi sones togidere schulen suffre the synnes of youre preesthod.

Yahweh said to Aaron, “You and your sons and the other members of your father’s family are the ones (who will be punished/whom I will punish) [if anything bad happens to the things] inside the Sacred Tent. But only you and your sons will be punished if the priests do something bad.

2 But also take thou with thee thi britheren of the lynage of Leuy, and the power of thi fadir, and be thei redi, that thei mynystre to thee. Forsothe thou and thi sones schulen mynystre in the tabernacle of witnessyng;

Require that those who belong to your tribe, the tribe of Levi, must assist you and your sons while you perform your work at the Sacred Tent.

3 and the dekenes schulen wake at thi comaundementis, and at alle werkis of the tabernacle; so oneli that thei neiye not to the vessels of seyntuarie, and to the autir, lest bothe thei dien, and ye perischen togidere.

But while they do that work, they must not go near the sacred items inside the tent or near the altar. If they do that, they will die, and you will die, too!

4 Forsothe be thei with thee, and wake thei in the kepyngis of the tabernacle, and in alle the cerymonyes therof. An alien schal not be meddlid with you.

They may assist you in doing all the work to take care of the Sacred Tent, but no one else is permitted to come near the place where you are working.

5 Wake ye in the kepyng of the seyntuarie, and in the seruyce of the auter, lest indignacioun rise on the sones of Israel.

“You are the ones who will do the sacred work inside the Sacred Tent and at the altar. If you obey these instructions, I will not become very angry with the Israeli people again.

6 Lo! Y haue youun `to you youre britheren, dekenes, fro the myddis of the sones of Israel, and Y haue youe a fre yifte to the Lord, that thei serue in the seruyces of his tabernacle.

I myself have chosen the descendants of Levi from the other Israelis in order that they may be your special helpers. They are like a gift that I have given you to work at the Sacred Tent.

7 Forsothe thou and thi sones, kepe youre preesthod; and alle thingis that perteynen to the ournyng of the auter, and ben with ynne the veil, schulen be mynystrid bi preestis; if ony straunger neiyeth, he schal be slayn.

But it is you and your sons, who are the priests, who must perform all the rituals concerning the altar and with what happens inside the Very Holy Place. I am giving to you this work of serving as priests. So anyone else who tries to do that work must be executed.”

8 The Lord spak to Aaron, Lo! Y haue youe to thee the kepyng of my firste fruytis; Y haue youe to thee and to thi sones alle thingis, that ben halewid of the sones of Israel, for preestis office euerlastynge lawful thingis.

Yahweh also said to Aaron, “I myself have appointed you to take care of all the sacred offerings that the Israeli people bring to me. I have given all these sacred offerings to you and to your sons. You and your descendants will get a share of these offerings permanently.

9 Therfor thou schalt take these thingis of tho thingis that ben halewid, and ben offrid to the Lord; ech offryng, and sacrifice, and what euer thing is yoldun to me for synne and for trespas, and cometh in to hooli of hooli thingis, schal be thin and thi sones.

The parts of the offerings that are not completely burned on the altar belong to you. Those parts of the sacred offerings, including the offerings of grain, the offerings for sins and for the people to be forgiven for not giving me what they are required to give, are set apart, and are to be given to you and your sons.

10 Thou schalt ete it in the seyntuarie; malis oneli schulen ete therof, for it is halewid to the Lord.

You must eat those offerings in a sacred place, [near the Sacred Tent]. You and all of the other males [in your clan] may eat them, but you must consider those offerings to be holy/dedicated to me.

11 Forsothe Y haue youe to thee, and to thi sones and douytris, bi euerlastynge riyt, the firste fruytis whiche the sones of Israel a vowen and offren; he that is clene in thin hous, schal ete tho.

“The priests lift up high the sacred offerings while they are standing in front of the altar. All of those offerings that the Israelis offer to me belong to you and your sons and daughters. They will always be your share. All the members of your family who [have performed the rituals to cause them to] be acceptable to me are permitted to eat from these offerings.

12 Y yaf to thee al the merowe of oile, and of wyn, and of wheete, what euer thing of the firste fruytis thei schulen offre to the Lord.

“am [also] giving to you the first food that people harvest each year and bring to me—the best [olive] oil and new wine and grain.

13 Alle the bigynnyngis of fruytis whiche the erthe bryngith forth, and ben brouyt to the Lord, schulen falle in to thin vsis; he that is cleene in thin hous, schal ete of tho.

All of the first crops that people harvest and bring to me belong to you. Anyone in your family who has [performed the ritual to] become acceptable to me is permitted to eat that food.

14 Al thing which the sones of Israel yelden bi avow, schal be thin.

“Everything in Israel that is set apart to belong to me also belongs to you.

15 What euer thing `schal breke out first of the wombe of al fleisch, which fleisch thei offren to the Lord, whether it is of men, ethir of beestis, it schal be of thi riyt; so oneli that thou take prijs for the firste gendrid child of man, and that thou make ech beeste which is vncleene to be bouyt ayen;

The firstborn males, both humans and domestic animals, that are offered to me, will be yours. But people must buy back their firstborn sons and the firstborn animals that may not be used for sacrifices.

16 whos ayenbiyng schal be aftir o monethe, for fyue siclis of siluer, bi the weiyte of seyntuarie; a sicle hath xx. halpens.

They must buy them back when they are one month old. The price that they must pay [for each one] is five pieces of silver. They must weigh the silver on the scales that are in the Sacred Tent.

17 Forsothe thou schalt not make the firste gendrid of oxe, and of scheep, and of goet, to be ayen bouyt, for tho ben halewid to the Lord; oneli thou schalt schede the blood of tho on the auter, and thou schalt brenne the ynnere fatnesse in to swettist odour to the Lord.

“But they are not permitted to buy back the firstborn cattle or sheep or goats. They are holy and have been set apart for me. [Slaughter them and] sprinkle their blood on the altar. Then completely burn the fat of those animals [on the altar] to be an offering to me. The smell as they burn will be very pleasing to me.

18 Forsothe the fleischis schulen falle in to thin vss, as the brest halewid and the riyt schuldur, schulen be thine.

The meat from those offerings will be yours, just like the breast and right thigh of animals that are presented to me to maintain fellowship with me as the priest lifts them up high in front of the altar are yours.

19 Y yaf to the and to thi sones and douytris, bi euerlastynge riyt, alle the firste fruytis of seyntuarie, whiche the sones of Israel offren to the Lord; it is euerlastynge couenant of salt bifor the Lord, to thee, and to thi sones.

Anything that the Israeli people present to me as holy/sacred gifts, I am giving to you. They are for you and your sons and daughters [to eat]. They will always be your share. This is an agreement that I am making with you, an agreement that will (last forever/never be changed). I am also making this agreement with your descendants.”

20 And the Lord seide to Aaron, Ye schulen not welde ony thing in the lond of hem, nether ye schulen haue part among hem; Y am thi part and erytage, in the myddis of the sones of Israel.

Yahweh also said to Aaron, “You priests will not receive any of the land or the property like the [other] Israeli people will receive. I am what you will receive.

21 Forsothe Y yaf to the sones of Leuy alle the tithis of Israel in to possessioun, for the seruyce bi whyche thei seruen me in the tabernacle of boond of pees;

“Then the Israeli people bring to me a tenth of all [the crops and of their newborn animals], I will give that to you descendants of Levi. That will be your payment for the work you do at the Sacred Tent.

22 that the sones of Israel neiye no more to the `tabernacle of boond of pees, nether do dedli synne.

The other Israelis must not go near that tent. If they go near it, [I will consider that their doing that is a sin, and] they will die for committing that sin.

23 To the sones aloone of Leuy, seruynge me in the tabernacle, and berynge the `synnes of the puple, it schal be a lawful thing euerlastynge in youre generaciouns.

Only the descendants of Levi are permitted to work at the Sacred Tent, and they will be punished if anything bad happens to it. That is a law that will never be changed. You descendants of Levi will not receive any land among the other Israeli people,

24 Thei schulen welde noon other thing, and thei schulen be apeied with the offryng of tithis, whiche Y departide in to vsis and necessaries of hem.

because I will give you one tenth of all the [crops and animals] that the Israelis bring to be offerings to me. That is why I said that you will not receive any land like the other Israelis will receive.”

25 And the Lord spak to Moises and seide,

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

26 Comaunde thou, and denounse to the dekenes, Whanne ye han take tithis of the sones of Israel, whiche Y yaf to you, offre ye the firste fruytis of tho to the Lord, that is, the tenthe part of the dyme,

“Tell this to the descendants of Levi: ‘When you receive one tenth of all [the crops and animals] from the Israeli people, you must give one tenth of all that to me to be a sacred offering.

27 that it be arettid to you in to offryng of the firste fruytis, as wel of corn flooris as of pressis;

Just like the other Israelis give one tenth of the grain and wine that they produce,

28 and of alle thingis of whiche ye taken tithis, offre ye the firste fruytis to the Lord, and yyue ye to Aaron, preest.

you must give to me one tenth of all that you receive from them. That will be your sacred offering to me. You must present it to Aaron.

29 Alle thingis whiche ye schulen offre of tithis, and schulen departe in to the yiftis of the Lord, schulen be the beste, and alle chosun thingis.

Select the best parts of the things that are given to you to give them to me.’

30 And thou schalt seye to hem, If ye offren to the Lord alle the clere and betere thingis of tithis, it schal be arettid to you, as if ye yauen the firste fruitis of the corn floor and presse.

“Also, tell this to the descendants of Levi: ‘When you present those best portions of grain and wine as your offering to me, I will consider that those gifts are as though they came from your own grain fields and vineyards.

31 And ye schulen ete tho tithis in alle youre placis, as wel ye as youre meynees, for it is the prijs for the seruyce, in whiche ye seruen in the tabernacle of witnessyng.

You descendants of Levi and your families are permitted to eat [the rest of] that food, and you may eat it wherever [you want to], because it is your payment for the work that you do at the Sacred Tent.

32 And ye schulen not do synne on this thing, `and resserue noble thingis and fat to you, lest ye defoulen the offryngis of the sones of Israel, and ye dien.

If you give to the priests the best portions of what you receive, you will not be punished [by me] for accepting one tenth of the gifts that the people bring to me. But you must consider those gifts to be sacred/holy. If you sin [by eating those things in ways that are contrary to these regulations that I have given to you], you will be executed.’”