Numbers 18:1–20

Responsibilities of the Levites

¹So Yahweh said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s household with you shall ^abear the guilt ¹in connection with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt ²in connection with your priesthood.

²“But bring near with you also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be ^ajoined with you and minister to you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.

³“And they shall thus keep your responsibility and the responsibility of all the tent, but ^athey shall not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary and ^bthe altar, so that neither they nor you will die.

⁴“And they shall be joined with you and keep the responsibility of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but ¹an outsider may not come near you.

⁵“So you shall keep the ^aresponsibility of the sanctuary and the responsibility of the altar, ^bso that there will no longer be wrath on the sons of Israel.

⁶“And behold, I Myself ^ahave taken your brothers the Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are ^ba gift to you, given to Yahweh, to perform the service for the tent of meeting.

⁷“But you and your sons with you shall ^akeep your priesthood in everything that concerns the altar and inside the veil, and you are to perform service. I am giving you the priesthood as ^ba ¹bestowed service, but ^cthe ²outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

The Priests’ Portion

⁸Then Yahweh spoke to Aaron, “Now behold, I Myself have given you the responsibility of My ^1acontributions, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual statute.

⁹“This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire; every offering of theirs, even ^aevery grain offering and every ^bsin offering and every guilt offering, which they shall render to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons.

¹⁰“As the most holy gifts you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.

¹¹“This also is yours, ^athe contribution from their gift, even all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have ^bgiven them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual statute. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it.

¹²“^aAll the ¹best of the fresh oil and all the ²best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to Yahweh, I give them to you.

¹³“^aThe first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to Yahweh, shall be yours; everyone of your household who is clean may eat it.

¹⁴“^aEvery devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

¹⁵“^1aEvery first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they bring near to Yahweh, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

¹⁶“Now as to their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your valuation, five ¹shekels in silver, according to the ²shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

¹⁷“But ^athe firstborn of an ox or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. ^bYou shall splash their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a soothing aroma to Yahweh.

¹⁸“And their ¹meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the ^abreast of a wave offering and like the right thigh.

¹⁹“^aAll the contributions of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel raise up to Yahweh, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual statute. It is ^ban everlasting covenant of salt before Yahweh to you and your seed with you.”

²⁰Then Yahweh said to Aaron, “^aYou shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; ^bI am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.