1And Jehovah said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy fathers’ house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary ; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood . 2And thy brethren also , the tribe of Levi , the tribe of thy father , bring thou near with thee , that they may be joined unto thee , and minister unto thee : but thou and thy sons with thee shall be before the tent of the testimony . 3And they shall keep thy charge , and the charge of all the Tent: only they shall not come nigh unto the vessels of the sanctuary and unto the altar , that they die not , neither they , nor ye . 4And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tent of meeting , for all the service of the Tent: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you . 5And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary , and the charge of the altar ; that there be wrath no more upon the children of Israel . 6And I , behold , I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel : to you they are a gift , given unto Jehovah , to do the service of the tent of meeting . 7And thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar , and for that within the veil ; and ye shall serve : I give you the priesthood as a service of gift : and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death .
Provision for the Priests
8And Jehovah spake unto Aaron, And I , behold , I have given thee the charge of my heave-offerings, even all the hallowed things of the children of Israel ; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing , and to thy sons , as a portion for ever . 9This shall be thine of the most holy things , reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs , even every meal-offering of theirs , and every sin-offering of theirs , and every trespass-offering of theirs , which they shall render unto me , shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons . 10As the most holy things shalt thou eat thereof; every male shall eat thereof: it shall be holy unto thee. 11And this is thine : the heave-offering of their gift , even all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel ; I have given them unto thee , and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee , as a portion for ever ; every one that is clean in thy house shall eat thereof. 12All the best of the oil , and all the best of the vintage, and of the grain , the first-fruits of them which they give unto Jehovah , to thee have I given them . 13The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring unto Jehovah , shall be thine; every one that is clean in thy house shall eat thereof. 14Everything devoted in Israel shall be thine. 15Everything that openeth the womb , of all flesh which they offer unto Jehovah , both of man and beast shall be thine: nevertheless the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem , and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem . 16And those that are to be redeemed of them from a month old shalt thou redeem , according to thine estimation , for the money of five shekels , after the shekel of the sanctuary ( the same is twenty gerahs ). 17But the firstling of a cow , or the firstling of a sheep , or the firstling of a goat , thou shalt not redeem ; they are holy : thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar , and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savor unto Jehovah . 18And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave-breast and as the right thigh , it shall be thine. 19All the heave-offerings of the holy things , which the children of Israel offer unto Jehovah , have I given thee , and thy sons and thy daughters with thee , as a portion for ever : it is a covenant of salt for ever before Jehovah unto thee and to thy seed with thee .
The Holiness of Offerings
20And Jehovah said unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land , neither shalt thou have any portion among them : I am thy portion and thine inheritance among the children of Israel . 21And unto the children of Levi , behold , I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance , in return for their service which they serve , even the service of the tent of meeting . 22And henceforth the children of Israel shall not come nigh the tent of meeting , lest they bear sin , and die . 23But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting , and they shall bear their iniquity : it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations ; and among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance . 24For the tithe of the children of Israel , which they offer as a heave-offering unto Jehovah , I have given to the Levites for an inheritance : therefore I have said unto them , Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance . 25And Jehovah spake unto Moses , saying , 26Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites , and say unto them , When ye take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance , then ye shall offer up a heave-offering of it for Jehovah , a tithe of the tithe . 27And your heave-offering shall be reckoned unto you , as though it were the grain of the threshing-floor, and as the fulness of the winepress . 28Thus ye also shall offer a heave-offering unto Jehovah of all your tithes , which ye receive of the children of Israel ; and thereof ye shall give Jehovah ’s heave-offering to Aaron the priest . 29Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave-offering of Jehovah , of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it . 30Therefore thou shalt say unto them , When ye heave the best thereof from it , then it shall be reckoned unto the Levites as the increase of the threshing-floor, and as the increase of the winepress . 31And ye shall eat it in every place , ye and your households : for it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting . 32And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it , when ye have heaved from it the best thereof: and ye shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel , that ye die not .