Numbers 16:36–19:22

³⁶The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ³⁷“Speak to the priest Eleazar. He is the son of Aaron. Remind him that the shallow cups are holy. He must take them out of the fire. He must scatter the burning coals away from there. ³⁸The men who sinned used those cups. And it cost them their lives. Hammer the cups into bronze sheets that will cover the altar. The cups were offered to the Lord. They have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel.”

³⁹So the priest Eleazar collected the bronze incense cups. They had been brought by the men who had been burned up. He had them hammered out to cover the altar. ⁴⁰He did just as the Lord had directed Moses to tell him to do. The covering would be a reminder to the people of Israel. It would remind them that no one except a son of Aaron should come and burn incense to the Lord. If people other than priests did that, they would become like Korah and his followers.

⁴¹The next day the whole community of Israel told Moses and Aaron they weren’t happy with them. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

⁴²The community gathered together to oppose Moses and Aaron. The people walked toward the Tent of Meeting. Suddenly the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting. ⁴⁴The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ⁴⁵“Get away from these people. Then I can put an end to all of them at once.” And Moses and Aaron fell with their faces to the ground.

⁴⁶Moses said to Aaron, “Take your incense cup. Put incense in it. And put fire from the altar in it. Then hurry to the people and pay for their sin. The Lord has sent his anger. The plague has started.”

⁴⁷So Aaron did as Moses said. He ran in among the people. The plague had already started among them. But Aaron offered the incense and paid for their sin. ⁴⁸He stood between those who were alive and those who were dead. And the plague stopped. ⁴⁹But 14,700 people died from the plague. That doesn’t include those who had died because of what Korah did. ⁵⁰Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The plague had stopped.

Aaron’s Wooden Staff Produces Buds

17The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ²“Speak to the people of Israel. Get 12 wooden staffs from them. Get one from the leader of each of Israel’s tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. ³Write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. There must be one staff for the head of each of Israel’s tribes.

⁴“Put the staffs in the Tent of Meeting. Place them in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. That is where I meet with you. ⁵The staff that belongs to the man I choose will begin to grow new shoots. The people of Israel are never happy with what you do. I will put an end to what they are saying.”

⁶So Moses spoke to the people of Israel. Their leaders gave him 12 wooden staffs. They gave one for the leader of each of Israel’s tribes. Aaron’s staff was among them. ⁷Moses put the staffs in front of the Lord in the tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept.

⁸The next day Moses entered the tent. He looked at Aaron’s staff. It stood for the tribe of Levi. Moses saw that it had not only begun to grow new shoots. It had also produced buds and flowers and almonds.

⁹Then Moses brought out all of the staffs from in front of the Lord. He brought them to all of the people of Israel. They looked at them. And each man took his own staff.

¹⁰The Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. The staff will be kept there as a warning to those who refuse to obey. They are never happy with what I do. Aaron’s staff will put an end to what they are saying. Then they will not die.” ¹¹Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

¹²The people of Israel said to Moses, “We’ll die! We are lost! All of us are lost! ¹³Anyone who even comes near the Lord’s holy tent will die. Are all of us going to die?”

Duties of Priests and Levites

18The Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, “You, your sons and your father’s family are in charge of the sacred tent. You will be held accountable for sins that are committed against it. And you and your sons will be held accountable for sins that are committed against the office of priest.

²“Bring the Levites from your tribe to join you. They will help you when you and your sons serve at the tent where the tablets of the covenant are kept. ³They will work for you. They must do everything that needs to be done at the tent. But they must not go near anything that belongs to the sacred tent. And they must not go near the altar. If they do, they and you will die. ⁴They will help you take care of the Tent of Meeting. They will join you in all of the work at the tent. No one else can come near you there.

⁵“You will be held accountable for taking care of the sacred tent and the altar. Then my anger will not fall on the people of Israel again. ⁶I myself have chosen the Levites. I have chosen them from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you. I have set them apart to do the work at the Tent of Meeting.

⁷“But only you and your sons can serve as priests. Only you and your sons can work with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am letting you serve as priests. It is a gift from me. Anyone else who comes near the sacred tent must be put to death.”

Offerings for Priests and Levites

⁸Then the Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, “I have put you in charge of the offerings that are brought to me. The people of Israel will give me holy offerings. I will give all of their offerings to you and your sons. They are the part that belongs to you. They are your regular share.

⁹“You will have a part of the very holy offerings. It is the part that is not burned in the fire. That part belongs to you and your sons. You will have a part of all of the gifts the people bring me as very holy offerings. It does not matter whether they are grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings. ¹⁰Eat your part as something that is very holy. Every male will eat it. You must consider it holy.

¹¹“Part of the gifts the people of Israel bring as wave offerings will be set to one side. That part will also belong to you. I will give it to you and your sons and daughters. It is your regular share. Everyone in your home who is ‘clean’ can eat it.

¹²“I will give you all of the finest olive oil and grain the people give me. And I will give you all of the finest fresh wine they give me. They give all of those things as the first share of their harvest. ¹³All of the first shares of the harvest they bring me will belong to you. Everyone in your home who is ‘clean’ can eat it.

¹⁴“Everything in Israel that is set apart to me belongs to you. ¹⁵Offer to me every male that is born first to its mother. It belongs to you. That is true for men and animals alike. But you must buy back every oldest son. Suppose certain animals are not ‘clean.’ Then you must buy back every male that is born first to its mother. ¹⁶When they are a month old, you must buy them back. You must pay the price to buy them back. The price is set at two ounces of silver. It must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent.

¹⁷“But you must not buy back any male calf that is born first. And you must not buy back any male sheep or goat that is born first. They are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar. And burn their fat as an offering that is made with fire. It gives a smell that is pleasant to me.

¹⁸“The meat will belong to you. It is just like the breast and the right thigh of the wave offering. Those parts belong to you. ¹⁹Part of the holy offerings the people of Israel bring to me will be set to one side. No matter what it is, I will give it to you and your sons and daughters. It is your regular share. It is a covenant of salt from me. The salt means that the covenant will last for all time to come for you and your children.”

²⁰The Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, “You will not receive any part of the land I am giving to Israel. You will not have any share among them. I am your share. I am what you will receive among the people of Israel.

²¹“The people of Israel will give me a tenth of everything they produce. And I will give it to the Levites. They serve at the Tent of Meeting. I will give them the tenth for the work they do there. ²²From now on the people of Israel must not go near the Tent of Meeting. If they do, they will be punished for their sin. They will die.

²³“The Levites will do the work at the Tent of Meeting. They will be held accountable for sins that are committed against it. That is a law that will last for all time to come. The Levites will not receive any share among the people of Israel. ²⁴Instead, I will give the Levites the tenth as their share. It is the tenth that the people of Israel bring me as an offering. That is why I said the Levites would not have any share of land among the people of Israel.”

²⁵The Lord said to Moses, ²⁶“Speak to the Levites. Say to them, ‘You will receive the tenth from the people of Israel. I will give it to you as your share. When I do, you must give a tenth of that tenth as an offering to the Lord. ²⁷Your offering will be considered as if you gave grain from a threshing floor. It will be considered as juice from a winepress.

²⁸“ ‘In that way, you also will bring an offering to the Lord. You will bring it from the tenth you receive from the people of Israel. You must give the Lord’s part to the priest Aaron. You must bring it from the tenth you receive. ²⁹You must bring to the Lord a part of everything that is given to you. It must be the best and holiest part.’

³⁰“Say to the Levites, ‘You must bring the best part. Then it will be considered as if you gave grain from a threshing floor. It will be considered as juice from a winepress. ³¹You and your families can eat the rest of it anywhere. It is your pay for your work at the Tent of Meeting. ³²Bring the best part of what you receive. Then…