¹dearly loved by God

and human beings—

Moses, who is remembered

with blessing.

²The Lord made Moses’ glory

equal to that of the holy ones,

and he made Moses great

so that Moses’ enemies would fear him.

³By Moses’ words,

he brought signs to a halt;

the Lord glorified Moses

in the presence of kings.

The Lord gave Moses commandments

for his people,

⁴The Lord ordained Moses

because of his faithfulness

and gentleness;

he chose him out of all human beings.

⁵The Lord let Moses hear his voice;

he led him into the deep darkness,

and he gave Moses commandments

face-to-face,

Aaron

⁶The Lord exalted Aaron,

a holy person like Moses,

his brother from the tribe of Levi.

⁷The Lord established

an eternal covenant with him

and gave him the priesthood

of the people.

He blessed Aaron with dignity,

and wrapped him in a glorious cloak.

⁸The Lord clothed him

with unrivaled praise,

and honored him

with objects of power—

leggings, a full-length robe,

and the priestly vest.

⁹He encircled Aaron with pomegranates,

with a great number of gold bells

all around,

in order to create a sound

when he stepped,

to make a sound that would be heard

in the temple,

as a reminder for the children

of the Lord’s people.

¹⁰He clothed Aaron with the priestly vest,

with gold, blue, and purple,

the work of an embroiderer,

with the oracle of judgment

for making the truth known;

¹¹with braided scarlet,

the work of a craftsperson;

with the precious stones

of an engraved seal

in a gold setting,

the work of a jeweler,

¹²He set a gold crown

upon his turban,

desirable objects to look at,

richly adorned.

¹³Before Aaron, such beautiful things

had not existed.

No stranger will ever wear them,

¹⁴His sacrifices will be entirely burned up

twice daily, for all time.

¹⁵Moses ordained Aaron

and anointed him with holy oil;

¹⁶Moses chose him

out of all who were alive

to offer fruitful sacrifices to the Lord,

¹⁷By his commandments,

the Lord gave him authority

over covenants for judgment,

to teach Jacob the testimonies,

and to enlighten Israel with his Law.

¹⁸Strangers conspired against Aaron,

and they were jealous of him

in the wilderness;

¹⁹The Lord saw it and wasn’t pleased,

and they were destroyed

in his furious anger;

²⁰He added to Aaron’s glory

and gave him an inheritance;

he gave him as his share

the initial portion of the early produce;

he prepared in abundance

bread from the early produce.

²¹They also will eat the sacrifices

of the Lord,

which he gave to him

and to his descendants.

²²But he has no inheritance

in the land of the people,

and he has no portion among the people;

for the Lord is your portion

and inheritance.

Phinehas

²³Phinehas, Eleazar’s son,

comes third in glory,

since he was on fire

with the fear of the Lord,

thus he secured reconciliation for Israel.

²⁴Therefore, a covenant of peace

was established with Phinehas,

that he should preside

over the holy places

and over his people,

²⁵The Lord also made a covenant

with David,

Jesse’s son, from the tribe of Judah;

²⁶May the Lord grant you peace

in your heart,

to judge his people justly,

so that the good things they have

might not vanish

and so that their glory might extend

to generations to come.