NumbersChapter 18

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¹So the LORD said to Aaron, "You and your sons and your father's family must carry the guilt for any wrong done against the holy place. And you and your sons alone must carry the guilt for any wrong done in your work as priests. ²But also bring your relatives from the tribe of Levi, your father's tribe. They will join you and help you and your sons in front of the Tent of the Testimony. ³They will do what you tell them and take care of all the jobs at the Tent. But they must not go near the holy furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar. If they do, both they and you will die. ⁴They will join you and take care of the Tent of Meeting. They will do all the work at the Tent. But no outsider may come near you. ⁵You must take care of the holy place and the altar, so that anger will not fall on the Israelites again. ⁶Look, I myself have chosen your fellow Levites from among the Israelites. They are a gift to you. They are given to the LORD to do the work at the Tent of Meeting. ⁷But only you and your sons may serve as priests. You will take care of everything at the altar and behind the curtain. You must do that work. I am giving you the work of the priests as a gift. But any outsider who comes near the holy place must be put to death." ⁸Then the LORD said to Aaron, "Look, I have put you in charge of the offerings brought to me. I have given you and your sons all the holy offerings of the Israelites. They are your share. This rule will last forever. ⁹Part of the most holy offerings will be yours. It is the part that is not burned in the fire. The people give me most holy offerings. These are grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. The part that is kept back belongs to you and your sons. ¹⁰You must eat it as a most holy offering. Every male may eat it. You must treat it as holy. ¹¹This is yours too: the gifts the Israelites set aside, with all their wave offerings. I have given these to you and your sons and daughters. This rule will last forever. Everyone in your family who is clean for worship may eat it. ¹²I give you all the best fresh olive oil and all the best new wine and grain. The Israelites give these to the LORD as their firstfruits. ¹³All the firstfruits from their land that they bring to the LORD will be yours. Everyone in your family who is clean for worship may eat them. ¹⁴Everything in Israel that is set apart for the LORD for good belongs to you. ¹⁵The first one born from every mother, both people and animals, is offered to the LORD. It belongs to you. But you must surely buy back every firstborn son. And you must buy back every firstborn male of animals that are unclean. ¹⁶Buy them back when they are a month old. The price you set is five shekels of silver. Use the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.a ¹⁷But you must not buy back the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat. They are holy. Splash their blood on the altar. Burn their fat as a food offering. Its smell will please the LORD. ¹⁸Their meat belongs to you. It is just like the breast and right thigh of the wave offering, which belong to you. ¹⁹The Israelites bring holy offerings to the LORD. I give all of them to you and your sons and daughters. This rule will last forever. It is a covenant of salt before the LORD that lasts forever. It is for you and your children after you." ²⁰Then the LORD said to Aaron, "You will not own any land in Israel. You will not have any share among them. I am your share. I am what you will receive among the Israelites. ²¹Look, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their share. It pays them for the work they do, serving at the Tent of Meeting.b ²²From now on, the Israelites must not come near the Tent of Meeting. If they do, they will be guilty and die. ²³The Levites must do the work at the Tent of Meeting. They must carry the guilt for any wrong done there. This rule is for all time to come. The Levites will not receive any land as their share among the Israelites. ²⁴The Israelites give a tithe to the LORD as a gift. I have given that tithe to the Levites as their share. That is why I told them they would not receive any land among the Israelites." ²⁵And the LORD told Moses, ²⁶"Speak to the Levites. Tell them this: 'You will receive the tithe from the Israelites. I have given it to you as your share. When you receive it, you must give part of it as an offering to the LORD. It will be a tenth of the tithe. ²⁷Your offering will count for you like grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. ²⁸So you must give an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. Give the LORD's part to Aaron the priest. ²⁹From every gift you get, you must give the LORD his part. Give the best part, the holiest part of it.' ³⁰So tell the Levites this: 'When you have given the best part, it will count for you like the crops from the threshing floor or the winepress. ³¹You and your families may eat the rest of it anywhere. It is your pay for your work at the Tent of Meeting. ³²Once you have given the best part of it, you will not be guilty because of it. But you must not treat the Israelites' holy offerings as common. If you do, you will die.'"