1 A nd the Lord said to Aaron, You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear and remove the iniquity of the sanctuary. And you and your sons with you shall bear and remove the iniquity of your priesthood.

The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and those of your father’s house will carry the guilt for any sin done in the meeting tent. And you and your sons with you will carry the guilt of any sin of the religious leaders.

2 A nd your brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring with you, that they may be joined to you and minister to you; but only you and your sons with you shall come before the Tent of the Testimony.

Bring with you your brothers also, the family of Levi, the family of your father. Then they may join you and help you while you and your sons are in front of the meeting tent of the Law.

3 A nd the Levites shall attend you and attend to all the duties of the Tent; only they shall not come near the sacred vessels of the sanctuary or to the brazen altar, that they and also you die not.

They will help you and help in doing all the work of the tent. But they must not come near the objects of the meeting tent and the altar, or both they and you will die.

4 A nd they shall be joined to you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting—all the service of the Tent—and no stranger shall come near you.

They will join you and help do all the work of the meeting tent. But no one else may come near you.

5 A nd you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and attend to the altar, that there be no wrath any more upon the Israelites.

You must do the work of the meeting tent and the work of the altar, so there will no longer be anger on the people of Israel.

6 A nd I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the Israelites; to you they are a gift, given to the Lord, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting.

See, I Myself have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the work for the meeting tent.

7 T herefore you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything of the altar and within the veil, and you shall serve. I give you your priesthood as a service of gift. And the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.

But you and your sons with you will do the religious work, in all that has to do with the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the work of being the religious leader as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the holy objects will be put to death.” Gifts for the Religious Leaders

8 A nd the Lord said to Aaron, And I, behold, I have given you the charge of My heave offerings, all the dedicated and consecrated things of the Israelites; to you have I given them and to your sons as a continual allowance forever by reason of your anointing as priests.

Then the Lord said to Aaron, “Now see, I am giving you all the gifts brought to Me that are not burned on the altar. I am giving them to you as a share, and to your sons as a share forever.

9 T his shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of the people, every cereal offering and sin offering and trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons.

This will be yours from the most holy gifts, kept from the fire: every gift of theirs, even every grain gift, every sin gift and every guilt gift, which they bring to Me. They will be most holy for you and your sons.

10 A s the most holy thing and in a sacred place shall you eat of it; every male shall eat of it. It shall be holy to you.

You will eat it as the most holy gifts. Every male will eat it. It will be holy to you.

11 A nd this also is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given them to you and to your sons and to your daughters with you as a continual allowance forever; everyone in your house who is clean may eat of it.

And this is yours: their gift that is lifted up and all the wave gifts of the people of Israel. I am giving them to you and to your sons and daughters with you, as a share forever. Everyone in your house who is clean may eat it.

12 A ll the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the Lord, to you have I given them.

I give to you all the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the first-fruits of what they give to the Lord.

13 W hatever is first ripe in the land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat of it.

The first-fruits ready to eat of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, will be yours. Everyone in your house who is clean may eat it.

14 E very devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

Everything in Israel that has been set apart to the Lord will be yours.

15 E verything that first opens the womb in all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be yours. Nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts you shall redeem.

Every first-born of all flesh, man or animal, which they give to the Lord, will be yours. But you must pay the price and make free the first-born of man and the first-born of animals that are unclean.

16 A nd those that are to be redeemed of them, from a month old shall you redeem, according to your estimate, for the fixed price of five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

You must make them free when they are one month old. The price to free them will be five large pieces of silver, the price decided upon at the meeting tent. One large piece of silver is worth twenty small pieces of silver.

17 B ut the firstling of a cow or of a sheep or of a goat you shall not redeem. They are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood upon the altar and shall burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet and soothing odor to the Lord.

But do not free the first-born of a bull or sheep or goat. For they are holy. You will put their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord.

18 A nd the flesh of them shall be yours, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are yours.

But their meat will be yours, like the breast of a wave gift and like the right thigh are yours.

19 A ll the heave offerings of the holy things which the Israelites give to the Lord I give to you and to your sons and your daughters with you, as a continual debt forever. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your posterity with you.

I have given to you and your sons and daughters, for a share forever, all the holy gifts which the people of Israel bring to the Lord. It is an agreement of salt forever before the Lord for you and your children with you.”

20 A nd the Lord said to Aaron, You shall have no inheritance in the land, neither shall you have any part among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.

Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no share in their land. You will not own any part of land among them. I am your part and your share among the people of Israel.

21 A nd, behold, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance in return for their service which they serve, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

“See, I have given a tenth part of everything in Israel to the Levites, in return for the work they do, the work of the meeting tent.

22 H enceforth the Israelites shall not come near the Tent of Meeting, lest they incur guilt and die.

The people of Israel must not come near the meeting tent again, or they will be guilty of sin and die.

23 B ut the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear and remove the iniquity of the people. It shall be a statute forever in all your generations, that among the Israelites the Levites have no inheritance.

Only the Levites may do the work around the meeting tent, and they will carry their sin. It will be a Law forever for all your children-to-come. And they will have no land among the people of Israel.

24 B ut the tithes of the Israelites, which they present as an offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit; therefore I have said to them, Among the Israelites they shall have no inheritance.

For I have given to the Levites one-tenth part of what the people of Israel give to the Lord. This is why I have said of them, ‘They will have no land among the people of Israel.’”

25 A nd the Lord said to Moses,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

26 M oreover, you shall say to the Levites, When you take from the Israelites the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord, even a tenth of the tithe.

“Say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tenth which I have given you from them for your share, then give a gift from it to the Lord. Give one-tenth part of the tenth.

27 A nd what you lift out and keep shall be credited to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor or as the fully ripe produce of the vine.

And your gift will be to you as if it were the grain from the grain-floor or all the wine from the crushed grapes.

28 L ikewise you shall also present an offering to the Lord of all your tithes which you receive from the Israelites; and therefore you shall give this heave offering for the Lord to Aaron the priest.

So you must give a gift to the Lord from the tenth of what you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you must give the Lord’s gift to Aaron the religious leader.

29 O ut of all the gifts to you, you shall present every offering due to the Lord, of all the best of it, even the hallowed part lifted out and held back out of it.

Out of all the gifts to you, you must give every gift that should go to the Lord, from all the best of them. Give the holy part from them.’

30 T herefore you shall say to them, When you have lifted out and held back the best from it, then it shall be counted to the Levites just as if it were the increase of the threshing floor or of the winepress.

“And say to them, ‘When you have given the best part of it, the rest of it will be to you as if it were the grain from the grain-floor and the wine from the crushed grapes.

31 A nd you may eat it in every place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your service in the Tent of Meeting.

You and those of your houses may eat it in any place. For it is your pay for your work in the meeting tent.

32 A nd you shall be guilty of no sin by reason of it when you have lifted out and held back the best of it; neither shall you have polluted the holy things of the Israelites, neither shall you die.

You will not be guilty because of it, when you have given the best of it. But do not make unclean the holy gifts of the people of Israel, or you will die.’”