Numbers 18:1-29 ▼

1 And YHWH said to Aaron, “You and your sons and the house of your father with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your? priesthood.

2 And bring your brothers of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, near with you, that they may be joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the Tent of the Testimony.

3 And they shall attend to your needs and the needs of all the tabernacle. However, to the articles of the sanctuary and the altar they shall not come near, lest they die—both they and also you?.

4 And they shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the Tent of Meeting for all the work of the tabernacle; and an outsider may not come near to you?.

5 And you? shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, that there be no more wrath on the sons of Israel.

6 And I, behold, I have taken your? brothers the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel; to you? they are a gift given by YHWH to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.

7 Therefore you and your sons with you shall attend to your? priesthood for everything concerning the altar and behind the veil, and you? shall serve. I give to you your? priesthood as a service for a gift, and the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

8 And YHWH spoke to Aaron: “And I, behold, I have given you charge of My contributions. All the holy gifts of the sons of Israel to you I have given as a portion, and to your sons, as an ordinance forever.

9 This shall be yours from the holy of holies, from the fire: All their offerings, all grain offerings, and all sin offerings, and all guilt offerings, which they render to Me, it is holy of holies to you and to your sons.

10 In the holy of holies you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.

11 And this is yours: The contribution of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as an everlasting ordinance. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits that they offer to YHWH, I have given them to you.

13 The firstfruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to YHWH, shall be unto you. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

14 Every devoted thing in Israel shall be unto you.

15 Everything opening the womb of all flesh, which they bring to YHWH, whether the man or the beast, shall be yours. Nevertheless you must surely redeem the firstborn of the man, and the firstborn of the unclean animals you shall redeem.

16 And their ransomed ones from a son of a month, you shall redeem according to your valuation for silver, five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; it is twenty gerahs.

17 But the firstborn of a cow or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. Their blood you shall sprinkle on the altar, and their fat you shall burn as a fire offering, for a pleasing aroma to YHWH.

18 And their flesh shall be unto you, as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh are unto you.

19 All the contributions of the holy things, which the sons of Israel offer to YHWH, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an everlasting statute. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the face of YHWH with you and your seed with you.”

20 And YHWH said to Aaron, “You shall not inherit in their land, and you shall not have any portion in their midst. I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the sons of Israel.

21 And the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance, in return for the work that they perform, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

22 And hereafter the sons of Israel shall not come near to the Tent of Meeting, lest they bear sin and die.

23 And the Levite, he shall perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your? generations, and in the midst of the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

24 For the tithes of the sons of Israel, which they offer up to YHWH as a contribution, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance. Upon thus I have said to them: In the midst of the sons of Israel they shall not have an inheritance.”

25 And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying,

26 “And to the Levites speak and say to them, ‘When you? take from the sons of Israel the tithes that I have given to you? from them as your? inheritance, you? shall offer up from it a contribution to YHWH, a tenth of the tithe.

27 And your? contributions shall be reckoned to you? as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress.

28 Thus you? shall lift up—you? also—a contribution to YHWH from all your? tithes that you? receive from the sons of Israel. And you? shall give from it the contribution of YHWH to Aaron the priest.

29 Of all your? gifts you? shall lift up every contribution of YHWH, from all its fat, its holy part from it.’