¹The LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your fathers’ house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary ; and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood .

²Bring your brothers also , the tribe of Levi , the tribe of your father , near with you , that they may be joined to you , and minister to you ; but you and your sons with you shall be before the Tent of the Testimony .

³They shall keep your commands and the duty of the whole Tent; only they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar , that they not die , neither they nor you .

⁴They shall be joined to you and keep the responsibility of the Tent of Meeting , for all the service of the Tent. A stranger shall not come near to you .

⁵“You shall perform the duty of the sanctuary and the duty of the altar , that there be no more wrath on the children of Israel .

⁶Behold , I myself have taken your brothers the Levites from amongst the children of Israel . They are a gift to you , dedicated to the LORD , to do the service of the Tent of Meeting .

⁷You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar , and for that within the veil . You shall serve . I give you the service of the priesthood as a gift . The stranger who comes near shall be put to death .”

⁸The LORD spoke to Aaron, “Behold , I myself have given you the command of my wave offerings , even all the holy things of the children of Israel . I have given them to you by reason of the anointing , and to your sons , as a portion forever .

⁹This shall be yours of the most holy things from the fire: every offering of theirs , even every meal offering of theirs , and every sin offering of theirs , and every trespass offering of theirs , which they shall give to me , shall be most holy for you and for your sons .

¹⁰You shall eat of it like the most holy things . Every male shall eat of it . It shall be holy to you .

¹¹“This is yours , too: the wave offering of their gift , even all the wave offerings of the children of Israel . I have given them to you , and to your sons and to your daughters with you , as a portion forever . Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it .

¹²“I have given to you all the best of the oil , all the best of the vintage, and of the grain , the first fruits of them which they give to the LORD .

¹³The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD , shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it .

¹⁴“Everything devoted in Israel shall be yours.

¹⁵Everything that opens the womb , of all flesh which they offer to the LORD , both of man and animal , shall be yours. Nevertheless, you shall surely redeem the firstborn of man , and you shall redeem the firstborn of unclean animals .

¹⁶You shall redeem those who are to be redeemed of them from a month old , according to your estimation , for five shekels of money , according to the shekel of the sanctuary , which weighs twenty gerahs .[#18:16 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.; #18:16 A gerah is about 0.5 grams or about 7.7 grains.]

¹⁷“But you shall not redeem the firstborn of a cow , or the firstborn of a sheep , or the firstborn of a goat . They are holy . You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar , and shall burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to the LORD .

¹⁸Their meat shall be yours, as the wave offering breast and as the right thigh , it shall be yours.

¹⁹All the wave offerings of the holy things which the children of Israel offer to the LORD , I have given you and your sons and your daughters with you , as a portion forever . It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD to you and to your offspring with you .”

²⁰The LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land , neither shall you have any portion amongst them . I am your portion and your inheritance amongst the children of Israel .

²¹“To 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 .

²²Henceforth the children of Israel shall not come near 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 forever throughout your generations . Amongst the children of Israel , they shall have no inheritance .

²⁴For the tithe of the children of Israel , which they offer as a wave offering to the LORD , I have given to the Levites for an inheritance . Therefore I have said to them , ‘Amongst the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance .’”

²⁵The LORD spoke to Moses , saying ,

²⁶“Moreover you shall speak to the Levites , and tell them , ‘When you take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance , then you shall offer up a wave offering of it for the LORD , a tithe of the tithe .

²⁷Your wave offering shall be credited to you , as though it were the grain of the threshing floor , and as the fullness of the wine press .

²⁸Thus you also shall offer a wave offering to the LORD of all your tithes , which you receive of the children of Israel ; and of it you shall give the LORD ’s wave offering to Aaron the priest .

²⁹Out of all your gifts , you shall offer every wave offering to the LORD , of all its best parts, even the holy part of it .’

³⁰“Therefore you shall tell them , ‘When you heave its best from it , then it shall be credited to the Levites as the increase of the threshing floor , and as the increase of the wine press .

³¹You may eat it anywhere , you and your households , for it is your reward in return for your service in the Tent of Meeting .

³²You shall bear no sin by reason of it , when you have heaved from it its best . You shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel , that you not die .’”