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, 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 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;

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 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.

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

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 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 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 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.

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 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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

Every devoted thing in Israel will be yours.

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;

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

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

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

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 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 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 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;

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

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 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.

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 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.

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 spak to Moises and seide,

Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

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,

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

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

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 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.

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 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.

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 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 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 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.

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.'”