Numbers 18
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. 2 And 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
minister unto thee: but thou and thy
sons with thee shall minister
before the
tabernacle of
witness. 3 And they shall
keep thy
charge, and the
charge of all the
tabernacle: only they shall not come
nigh the
vessels of the
sanctuary and the
altar, that neither they, nor ye also,
die.
4 And they shall be
joined unto thee, and
keep the
charge of the
tabernacle of the
congregation, for all the
service of the
tabernacle: and a
stranger shall not come
nigh unto you.
5 And ye shall
keep the
charge of the
sanctuary, and the
charge of the
altar: that there be no
wrath any more upon the
children of
Israel. 6 And I, behold, I have
taken your
brethren the
Levites from
among the
children of
Israel: to you they are
given as a
gift for the
LORD, to
do the
service of the
tabernacle of the
congregation. 7 Therefore thou and thy
sons with thee shall
keep your priest's
office for every
thing of the
altar, and
within the
vail; and ye shall
serve: I have
given your priest's
office unto you as a
service of
gift: and the
stranger that cometh
nigh shall be put to
death.
8 And the
LORD spake unto
Aaron, Behold, I also have
given thee the
charge of mine heave
offerings of all the hallowed
things of the
children of
Israel; unto thee have I
given them by reason of the
anointing, and to thy
sons, by an
ordinance for
ever. 9 This shall be thine of the
most holy
things, reserved from the
fire: every
oblation of theirs, every meat
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. 10 In the
most holy place shalt thou
eat it; every
male shall
eat it: it shall be
holy unto thee.
11 And this is thine; the heave
offering of their
gift, with 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, by a
statute for
ever: every one that is
clean in thy
house shall
eat of it.
12 All the
best of the
oil, and all the
best of the
wine, and of the
wheat, the
firstfruits of them which they shall
offer unto the
LORD, them have I
given thee.
13 And whatsoever is first
ripe in the
land, which they shall
bring unto the
LORD, shall be thine; every one that is
clean in thine
house shall
eat of it.
14 Every thing
devoted in
Israel shall be thine.
15 Every thing that
openeth the
matrix in all
flesh, which they
bring unto the
LORD, whether it be of
men or
beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the
firstborn of
man shalt thou
surely redeem, and the
firstling of
unclean beasts shalt thou
redeem.
16 And those that are to be
redeemed from a
month old shalt thou
redeem, according to thine
estimation, for the
money of
five shekels, after the
shekel of the
sanctuary, which is
twenty gerahs. 17 But 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 savour unto the
LORD. 18 And the
flesh of them shall be thine, as the
wave breast and as the
right shoulder are thine.
19 All the heave
offerings of the holy
things, which the
children of
Israel offer unto the
LORD, have I
given thee, and thy
sons and thy
daughters with thee, by a
statute for
ever: it is a
covenant of
salt for
ever before the
LORD unto thee and to thy
seed with thee.
20 And the
LORD spake 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
children of
Israel. 21 And, behold, I have
given the
children of
Levi all the
tenth in
Israel for an
inheritance, for their
service which they
serve, even the
service of the
tabernacle of the
congregation. 22 Neither must the
children of
Israel henceforth come
nigh the
tabernacle of the
congregation, lest they
bear sin, and
die.
23 But the
Levites shall
do the
service of the
tabernacle of the
congregation, and they shall
bear their
iniquity: it shall be a
statute for
ever throughout your
generations, that
among the
children of
Israel they
have no
inheritance. 24 But the
tithes of the
children of
Israel, which they
offer as an heave
offering unto the
LORD, I have
given to the
Levites to
inherit: therefore I have
said unto them,
Among the
children of
Israel they shall
have no
inheritance. 25 And the
LORD spake unto
Moses, saying,
26 Thus
speak unto the
Levites, and
say unto them, When ye
take of the
children of
Israel the
tithes which I have
given you from them for your
inheritance, then ye shall
offer up an heave
offering of it for the
LORD, even a
tenth part of the
tithe. 27 And this your heave
offering shall be
reckoned unto you, as though it were the
corn of the
threshingfloor, and as the
fulness of the
winepress. 28 Thus ye also shall
offer an heave
offering unto the
LORD of all your
tithes, which ye
receive of the
children of
Israel; and ye shall
give thereof the
LORD'S heave
offering to
Aaron the
priest. 29 Out of all your
gifts ye shall
offer every heave
offering of the
LORD, of all the
best thereof, even the hallowed
part thereof out of it.
30 Therefore thou shalt
say unto them, When ye have
heaved the
best thereof from it, then it shall be
counted unto the
Levites as the
increase of the
threshingfloor, and as the
increase of the
winepress. 31 And ye shall
eat it in every
place, ye and your
households: for it is your
reward for your
service in the
tabernacle of the
congregation. 32 And ye shall
bear no
sin by reason of it, when ye have
heaved from it the
best of it: neither shall ye
pollute the holy
things of the
children of
Israel, lest ye
die.