Numbers 18:8–32

The Share of the Priests

⁸The Lord said to Aaron, “Remember that I am giving you all the special contributions made to me that are not burnt as sacrifices. I am giving them to you and to your descendants as the part assigned to you for ever. ⁹Of the most sacred offerings not burnt on the altar, the following belong to you: the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the repayment offerings. Everything that is presented to me as a sacred offering belongs to you and your sons. ¹⁰You must eat these things in a holy place, and only males may eat them; consider them holy.

¹¹“In addition, any other special contributions that the Israelites present to me shall be yours. I am giving them to you, your sons, and your daughters for all time to come. Every member of your family who is ritually clean may eat them.

¹²“I am giving you all the best of the first produce which the Israelites give me each year: olive oil, wine, and corn. ¹³It all belongs to you. Every member of your family who is ritually clean may eat it.

^14*“Everything in Israel that has been unconditionally dedicated to me belongs to you.

¹⁵“Every firstborn child or animal that the Israelites present to me belongs to you. But you must accept payment to buy back every firstborn child, and must also accept payment for every firstborn animal that is ritually unclean. ¹⁶Children shall be bought back at the age of one month for the fixed price of five pieces of silver, according to the official standard. ¹⁷But the firstborn of cows, sheep, and goats are not to be bought back; they belong completely to me and are to be sacrificed. Throw their blood against the altar and burn their fat as a food offering, a smell pleasing to me. ¹⁸The meat from them belongs to you, like the breast and the right hind leg of the special offering.

¹⁹“I am giving to you, to your sons, and to your daughters, for all time to come, all the special contributions which the Israelites present to me. This is an unbreakable covenant that I have made with you and your descendants.”

²⁰The Lord said to Aaron, “You will not receive any property that can be inherited, and no part of the land of Israel will be assigned to you. I, the Lord, am all you need.”

The Share of the Levites

^21*The Lord said, “I have given to the Levites every tithe that the people of Israel present to me. This is in payment for their service in taking care of the Tent of my presence. ²²The other Israelites must no longer approach the Tent and in this way bring on themselves the penalty of death. ²³From now on only the Levites will take care of the Tent and bear the full responsibility for it. This is a permanent rule that applies also to your descendants. The Levites shall have no permanent property in Israel, ²⁴because I have given to them as their possession the tithe which the Israelites present to me as a special contribution. That is why I told them that they would have no permanent property in Israel.”

The Levites’ Tithe

²⁵The Lord commanded Moses ²⁶to say to the Levites: “When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that the Lord gives you as your possession, you must present a tenth of it as a special contribution to the Lord. ²⁷This special contribution will be considered as the equivalent of the offering which the farmer makes of new corn and new wine. ²⁸In this way you also will present the special contribution that belongs to the Lord from all the tithes which you receive from the Israelites. You are to give this special contribution for the Lord to Aaron the priest. ²⁹Give it from the best that you receive. ³⁰When you have presented the best part, you may keep the rest, just as the farmer keeps what is left after he makes his offering. ³¹You and your families may eat the rest anywhere, because it is your wages for your service in the Tent. ³²You will not become guilty when you eat it, as long as you have presented the best of it to the Lord. But be sure not to profane the sacred gifts of the Israelites by eating any of the gifts before the best part is offered; if you do, you will be put to death.”