Old Testament · Numbers

Numbers 18

Duties of Priests and Levites

1And the LORD said to Aaron, "You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. 2And also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring near with you, that they may be joined to you and minister to you, you and your sons with you, before the tent^a of the testimony^b. 3And they shall keep your charge^c and the charge of all the tent; only to the vessels of the holy place and to the altar they shall not draw near, that they do not die, neither they nor you. 4And they shall be joined to you, and keep the charge of the tent of appointed time (mo-ed), for all the service^d of the tent; and a stranger shall not draw near to you.

5And you shall keep the charge of the holy place and the charge of the altar, that there be no more wrath upon the sons of Israel. 6And I, behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel; to you they are a gift, given to the LORD, to serve^e the service of the tent of appointed time (mo-ed). 7And you and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood, for everything of the altar and for within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a service of gift; and the stranger who draws near shall be put to death."

Offerings for Priests and Levites

8And the LORD spoke to Aaron, "And I, behold, I have given you the charge of my heave-offerings; for all the holy things of the sons of Israel, to you I have given them, for an anointing-portion, and to your sons, as a statute^f of forever^g. 9This shall be yours of the most holy things, from the fire: every offering of theirs, every meal-offering of theirs, and every sin-offering of theirs, and every guilt-offering of theirs, which they render to me, most holy it is for you and for your sons. 10In the most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it; holy it shall be to you.

11And this is yours: the heave-offering of their gift, for all the wave-offerings of the sons of Israel; to you I have given them, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a statute of forever; everyone clean in your house shall eat it. 12All the best of the oil, and all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they give to the LORD, to you I have given them. 13The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours; everyone clean in your house shall eat it.

14Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15Everyone opening the womb, of all flesh^h, which they bring near to the LORD, among manⁱ and among beast, shall be yours; only you shall surely redeem the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of the unclean beast you shall redeem. 16And its redemption, from a month old you shall redeem it, by your valuation, five shekels of silver by the shekel of the holy place; twenty gerahs it is.

17Only the firstborn of an ox, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; holy they are. Their blood you shall sprinkle upon the altar, and their fat you shall make smoke, a fire-offering for a soothing aroma to the LORD. 18And their flesh shall be yours; like the breast of the wave-offering and like the right thigh, it shall be yours.

19All the heave-offerings of the holy things, which the sons of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a statute of forever; it is a covenant^j of salt forever before the LORD, to you and to your seed with you."

20And the LORD said to Aaron, "In their land you shall not inherit, and a portion you shall not have in their midst; I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the sons of Israel.

21And to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, the service of the tent of appointed time (mo-ed). 22And the sons of Israel shall not come near again to the tent of appointed time (mo-ed), to bear sin, to die.

23But the Levite, he shall serve the service of the tent of appointed time (mo-ed), and they shall bear their iniquity; a statute^k of forever throughout your generations; and in the midst of the sons of Israel they shall not inherit an inheritance. 24For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the LORD as a heave-offering, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, In the midst of the sons of Israel they shall not inherit an inheritance."

25And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 26"And to the Levites you shall speak, and say to them, When you take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer from it a heave-offering of the LORD, a tithe from the tithe. 27And your heave-offering shall be reckoned to you, as the grain from the threshing-floor, and as the fullness from the winepress. 28Thus you also shall offer the heave-offering of the LORD from all your tithes which you take from the sons of Israel; and you shall give from it the heave-offering of the LORD to Aaron the priest. 29From all your gifts you shall offer every heave-offering of the LORD, from all its best, its holy part from it.

30And you shall say to them, When you offer up its best from it, then it shall be reckoned to the Levites as the produce of the threshing-floor and as the produce of the winepress. 31And you shall eat it in every place, you and your households; for it is a wage to you in return for your service in the tent of appointed time (mo-ed). 32And you shall bear no sin over it, when you offer up its best from it; and the holy things of the sons of Israel you shall not profane, that you do not die."