Numbers 18
18
Duties of Priests and Levites
1Then the Lord said to Aaron: #Num. 17:13“You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall #Ex. 28:38; Lev. 10:17; 22:16bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. 2Also bring with you your brethren of the #Gen. 29:34; Num. 1:47tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be #Num. 3:5–10joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of witness. 3They shall attend to your needs and #Num. 3:25, 31, 36all the needs of the tabernacle; #Num. 16:40but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, #Num. 4:15lest they die—they and you also. 4They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; #Num. 3:10but an outsider shall not come near you. 5And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and #Ex. 27:21; 30:7; Lev. 24:3the duties of the altar, #Num. 8:19; 16:46that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. 6Behold, I Myself have #Num. 3:12, 45taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; #Num. 3:9they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 7Therefore #Num. 3:10; 18:5you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and #Heb. 9:3, 6behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a #Matt. 10:8; 1 Pet. 5:2, 3gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
Offerings for Support of the Priests
8And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, #Lev. 6:16, 18; 7:28–34; Num. 5:9I Myself have also given you charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them #Ex. 29:29; 40:13, 15as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. 9This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every #Lev. 2:2, 3; 10:12, 13grain offering and every #Lev. 6:25, 26sin offering and every #Lev. 7:7; Num. 5:8–10trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons. 10#Lev. 6:16, 26In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.
11“This also is yours: #Ex. 29:27, 28; Deut. 18:3–5the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. #Lev. 22:1–16Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
12#Ex. 23:19; Neh. 10:35, 36“All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, #Ex. 22:29; Lev. 23:20their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you. 13Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, #Ex. 22:29; 23:19; 34:26which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
14#Lev. 27:1–33“Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.
15“Everything that first opens #Ex. 13:2the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and #Ex. 13:12–15; Num. 3:46; Luke 2:22–24the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, #Lev. 27:6according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is #Ex. 30:13twenty gerahs. 17#Deut. 15:19But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. #Lev. 3:2, 5You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 18And their flesh shall be yours, just as the #Ex. 29:26–28; Lev. 7:31–36wave breast and the right thigh are yours.
19“All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; #Lev. 2:13; 2 Chr. 13:5; (Mark 9:49, 50)it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”
20Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have #Deut. 10:8, 9; 12:12; 14:27–29; 18:1, 2; Josh. 13:14, 33no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; #Ps. 16:5; Ezek. 44:28I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
Tithes for Support of the Levites
21“Behold, #Lev. 27:30–33; Deut. 14:22–29; Neh. 10:37; 12:44; Mal. 3:8–10; (Heb. 7:4–10)I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, #Num. 3:7, 8the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 22#Num. 1:51Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, #Lev. 22:9lest they bear sin and die. 23But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ”
The Tithe of the Levites
25Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26“Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, #Neh. 10:38a tenth of the tithe. 27And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the #Num. 15:20; (2 Cor. 8:12)threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. 28Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. 29Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the Lord, from all the best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ 30Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. 31You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is #(Matt. 10:10; Luke 10:7); 1 Cor. 9:13; (1 Tim. 5:18)your reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting. 32And you shall #Lev. 19:8; 22:16; Ezek. 22:26bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not #Lev. 22:2, 15profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ”
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Numbers 18: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Numbers 18
18
Duties of Priests and Levites
1Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You, your sons, and your relatives from the tribe of Levi will be held responsible for any offenses related to the sanctuary. But you and your sons alone will be held responsible for violations connected with the priesthood.
2“Bring your relatives of the tribe of Levi—your ancestral tribe—to assist you and your sons as you perform the sacred duties in front of the Tabernacle of the Covenant.#18:2 Or Tabernacle of the Testimony. 3But as the Levites go about all their assigned duties at the Tabernacle, they must be careful not to go near any of the sacred objects or the altar. If they do, both you and they will die. 4The Levites must join you in fulfilling their responsibilities for the care and maintenance of the Tabernacle,#18:4 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; also in 18:6, 21, 22, 23, 31. but no unauthorized person may assist you.
5“You yourselves must perform the sacred duties inside the sanctuary and at the altar. If you follow these instructions, the Lord’s anger will never again blaze against the people of Israel. 6I myself have chosen your fellow Levites from among the Israelites to be your special assistants. They are a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord for service in the Tabernacle. 7But you and your sons, the priests, must personally handle all the priestly rituals associated with the altar and with everything behind the inner curtain. I am giving you the priesthood as your special privilege of service. Any unauthorized person who comes too near the sanctuary will be put to death.”
Support for the Priests and Levites
8The Lord gave these further instructions to Aaron: “I myself have put you in charge of all the holy offerings that are brought to me by the people of Israel. I have given all these consecrated offerings to you and your sons as your permanent share. 9You are allotted the portion of the most holy offerings that is not burned on the fire. This portion of all the most holy offerings—including the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings—will be most holy, and it belongs to you and your sons. 10You must eat it as a most holy offering. All the males may eat of it, and you must treat it as most holy.
11“All the sacred offerings and special offerings presented to me when the Israelites lift them up before the altar also belong to you. I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters as your permanent share. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat of these offerings.
12“I also give you the harvest gifts brought by the people as offerings to the Lord—the best of the olive oil, new wine, and grain. 13All the first crops of their land that the people present to the Lord belong to you. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat this food.
14“Everything in Israel that is specially set apart for the Lord#18:14 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering. also belongs to you.
15“The firstborn of every mother, whether human or animal, that is offered to the Lord will be yours. But you must always redeem your firstborn sons and the firstborn of ceremonially unclean animals. 16Redeem them when they are one month old. The redemption price is five pieces of silver#18:16 Hebrew 5 shekels [2 ounces or 57 grams] of silver. (as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs).
17“However, you may not redeem the firstborn of cattle, sheep, or goats. They are holy and have been set apart for the Lord. Sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 18The meat of these animals will be yours, just like the breast and right thigh that are presented by lifting them up as a special offering before the altar. 19Yes, I am giving you all these holy offerings that the people of Israel bring to the Lord. They are for you and your sons and daughters, to be eaten as your permanent share. This is an eternal and unbreakable covenant#18:19 Hebrew a covenant of salt. between the Lord and you, and it also applies to your descendants.”
20And the Lord said to Aaron, “You priests will receive no allotment of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your share and your allotment. 21As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will compensate them for their service in the Tabernacle. Instead of an allotment of land, I will give them the tithes from the entire land of Israel.
22“From now on, no Israelites except priests or Levites may approach the Tabernacle. If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and will die. 23Only the Levites may serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation. The Levites will receive no allotment of land among the Israelites, 24because I have given them the Israelites’ tithes, which have been presented as sacred offerings to the Lord. This will be the Levites’ share. That is why I said they would receive no allotment of land among the Israelites.”
25The Lord also told Moses, 26“Give these instructions to the Levites: When you receive from the people of Israel the tithes I have assigned as your allotment, give a tenth of the tithes you receive—a tithe of the tithe—to the Lord as a sacred offering. 27The Lord will consider this offering to be your harvest offering, as though it were the first grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own winepress. 28You must present one-tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a sacred offering to the Lord. This is the Lord’s sacred portion, and you must present it to Aaron the priest. 29Be sure to give to the Lord the best portions of the gifts given to you.
30“Also, give these instructions to the Levites: When you present the best part as your offering, it will be considered as though it came from your own threshing floor or winepress. 31You Levites and your families may eat this food anywhere you wish, for it is your compensation for serving in the Tabernacle. 32You will not be considered guilty for accepting the Lord’s tithes if you give the best portion to the priests. But be careful not to treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common. If you do, you will die.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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