18The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your ancestral house ^lwill be responsible for sin against the sanctuary. You and your sons will be responsible for sin involving your priesthood. ²But also bring your relatives with you from the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, so they may join you and assist you and your sons in front of the tent of the testimony. ^m³They are to perform duties for you and for the whole tent. They must not come near the sanctuary equipment or the altar; otherwise, both they and you will die. ⁴They are to join you and guard the tent of meeting, doing all the work at the tent, but no unauthorized person may come near you.

⁵“You are to guard the sanctuary and the altar so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again. ⁿ⁶Look, I have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift for you, ^oassigned by the Lord to work at the tent of meeting. ⁷But you and your sons will carry out your priestly responsibilities ^pfor everything concerning the altar and for what is inside the veil, and you will do that work. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, ^qbut an unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary will be put to death.” ^r

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Footnotes

o18:6 , Syr, omit for you
q18:7 Or veil. So you are to perform the service; a gift of your priesthood I grant

Cross references

l18:1 Nm 10:21
m18:2 Nm 8:5–26
n18:5 Nm 1:53; 16; 17:12–13; 1Ch 9:19; Ezk 44:11
p18:7 Nm 3:10
r18:7 Nm 1:51; 3:10, 38