1 ¶ And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear 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 thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee and serve thee; but thou and thy sons with thee shall serve before the tabernacle 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 they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle; only they shall not come near the holy vessels or the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

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 join themselves unto thee and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony in all the service of the tabernacle; and no stranger shall come near unto 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 ye shall have the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar, that there be no more wrath upon the sons of Israel.

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 F or behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the sons of Israel, given unto you as a gift of the LORD, to serve in the ministry of the tabernacle of the testimony.

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 thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood for every thing of the altar and within the veil, and ye shall minister; for I have given the service of your priesthood as a gift, and the stranger that comes near shall die.

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 ¶ The LORD spoke further unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of my offerings; all the dedicated things of the sons of Israel I have given unto thee by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by a perpetual statute.

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 thine of the holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every present of theirs, and every offering that represents their sin, and every offering that represents their guilt, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy 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 I n the sanctuary shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it; it shall be holy unto thee.

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

11 T his also shall be thine: the heave offering of their gifts. All the wave offerings of the sons of Israel, I have given them unto thee and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever; everyone that is clean in thy house shall 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 wheat, the firstfruits of this, which they shall present unto the LORD, this have I given thee.

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 T he firstfruits of theirs of all the things of the land, which they shall bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; everyone that is clean in thy house shall 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 anathema in Israel shall be thine.

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

15 E very thing that opens the womb in all flesh, which they shall offer unto the LORD, whether it is of men or animals, shall be thine; nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely ransom, and the firstborn of unclean animals shalt thou ransom.

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 from a month old shalt thou effect their ransom, a ransom according to thine estimation, for the price of five shekels, after 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 firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, thou shalt not ransom; they are sanctified; thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar and shalt burn their fat for an offering on fire, for an acceptable savour unto 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 shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder shall be thine.

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 sons of Israel offer unto the LORD, I have given for thee and for thy sons and for thy daughters with thee, by a perpetual statute; it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD for thee and for thy seed with thee.

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 ¶ And the LORD spoke unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them. I am thy part and thine inheritance among the sons of Israel.

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 sons of Levi all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their ministry because they serve in the ministry of the tabernacle of the testimony.

“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 N either must the sons of Israel from now on come near the tabernacle of the testimony lest they bear sin and die because of it.

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 tabernacle of the testimony, and they shall bear their iniquity by a perpetual statute throughout your ages, and they shall not possess an inheritance among the sons of Israel.

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 F or unto the Levites I have given the tithes of the sons of Israel as inheritance, which they shall offer unto the LORD as offerings; therefore, I have said unto them, Among the sons of Israel they shall possess 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 spoke unto Moses, saying,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

26 T hus shalt thou speak unto the Levites and say unto them, When ye take the tithes from the sons of Israel which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall present a tithe of the tithes as an offering unto the LORD.

“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 ye shall count your offering as though it were the grain of the threshingfloor and as the fullness of the winepress.

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 T hus ye also shall offer an offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye shall have received of the sons of Israel; and ye shall give of them an offering unto 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 your gifts ye shall offer every offering unto the LORD, of all the best thereof ye shall offer the portion that is to be dedicated.

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 thou shalt say unto them, When ye offer the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the fruit of the threshingfloor and as the fruit 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 ye shall eat it in any place, ye and your family; for it is your reward for your ministry in the tabernacle of the testimony.

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 ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have offered from it the best of it; and ye shall not pollute the holy things of the sons of Israel, and ye shall not 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.’”