< Numbers 18 >

1 The LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your fathers’ house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
And the LORD said to 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 Bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, near with you, that they may be joined to you, and minister to you; but you and your sons with you shall be before the Tent of the Testimony.
And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined to thee, and minister to thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.
3 They shall keep your commands and the duty of the whole Tent; only they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar, that they not die, neither they nor you.
And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come near the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.
4 They shall be joined to you and keep the responsibility of the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent. A stranger shall not come near to you.
And they shall be joined to thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come near to you.
5 “You shall perform the duty of the sanctuary and the duty of the altar, that there be no more wrath on the children of Israel.
And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.
6 Behold, I myself have taken your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel. They are a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting.
And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7 You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar, and for that within the veil. You shall serve. I give you the service of the priesthood as a gift. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”
Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the veil; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office to you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death.
8 The LORD spoke to Aaron, “Behold, I myself have given you the command of my wave offerings, even all the holy things of the children of Israel. I have given them to you by reason of the anointing, and to your sons, as a portion forever.
And the LORD spoke to Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of my heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; to thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.
9 This shall be yours of the most holy things from the fire: every offering of theirs, even every meal offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render to me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons.
This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render to me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.
10 You shall eat of it like the most holy things. Every male shall eat of it. It shall be holy to you.
In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy to thee.
11 “This is yours, too: the wave offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the children of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a portion forever. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.
And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them to thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.
12 “I have given to you all the best of the oil, all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to the LORD.
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer to the LORD, them have I given to thee.
13 The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.
And whatever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring to the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.
14 “Everything devoted in Israel shall be yours.
Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.
15 Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to the LORD, both of man and animal, shall be yours. Nevertheless, you shall surely redeem the firstborn of man, and you shall redeem the firstborn of unclean animals.
Every thing that openeth the womb in all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.
16 You shall redeem those who are to be redeemed of them from a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of money, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which weighs twenty gerahs.
And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thy estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.
17 “But you shall not redeem the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat. They are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and shall burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to the LORD.
But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour to the LORD.
18 Their meat shall be yours, as the wave offering breast and as the right thigh, it shall be yours.
And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine.
19 All the wave offerings of the holy things which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a portion forever. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD to you and to your offspring with you.”
All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, have I given to thee, and to thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD to thee and to thy seed with thee.
20 The LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
And the LORD spoke to Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thy inheritance among the children of Israel.
21 “To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the Tent of Meeting.
And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
22 Henceforth the children of Israel shall not come near the Tent of Meeting, lest they bear sin, and die.
Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come near the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.
23 But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. Among the children of Israel, they shall have no inheritance.
But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.
24 For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a wave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’”
But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
25 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
26 “Moreover you shall speak to the Levites, and tell them, ‘When you take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a wave offering of it for the LORD, a tithe of the tithe.
Thus speak to the Levites, and say to them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.
27 Your wave offering shall be credited to you, as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the wine press.
And this your heave offering shall be reckoned to you, as though it were the grain of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.
28 Thus you also shall offer a wave offering to the LORD of all your tithes, which you receive of the children of Israel; and of it you shall give the LORD’s wave offering to Aaron the priest.
Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering to the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give of them the LORD’S heave offering to Aaron the priest.
29 Out of all your gifts, you shall offer every wave offering to the LORD, of all its best parts, even the holy part of it.’
Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best of it, even the hallowed part from it.
30 “Therefore you shall tell them, ‘When you heave its best from it, then it shall be credited to the Levites as the increase of the threshing floor, and as the increase of the wine press.
Therefore thou shalt say to them, When ye have offered the best of it, then it shall be counted to the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.
31 You may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your reward in return for your service in the Tent of Meeting.
And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.
32 You shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have heaved from it its best. You shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, that you not die.’”
And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have offered from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.

< Numbers 18 >