Numbers 18

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.

1The LORD said to Aaron: You, your sons, and your father’s family will be responsible for any offenses against the sanctuary. You and your sons also carry the responsibility for 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.

2Bring your relatives from the tribe of Levi, your father’s tribe, to join you and help you when you and your sons serve in front of 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.

3They are to perform their duties for you and all the work of the Tent. However, they must not go near the holy objects or the altar, so that they do not die—and you won’t die either.

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.

4They will join you and take care of the Tent of Meeting and all its service, but no unauthorized person may come near 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.

5You are responsible for the sanctuary and the altar so that my anger does not fall on the Israelites again.

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.

6I myself have chosen your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you. They are dedicated to the LORD to do the work 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.

7But only you and your sons may perform the priestly duties related to the altar and everything behind the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary will be put to death.

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.

8Then the LORD said to Aaron: I have put you in charge of the contributions given to me. All the holy gifts the Israelites dedicate, I give to you and your sons as your permanent portion because of your anointing.

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.

9You will receive the portion of the most holy offerings that is not burned in the fire. This includes every grain offering, sin offering, and guilt offering they bring to me. These are most holy for you and your sons.

10As the most holy things shalt thou eat thereof; every male shall eat thereof: it shall be holy unto thee.

10You must eat it in a most holy place. Every male may eat it; it is holy as far as you are concerned.

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.

11This also belongs to you: all the special contributions and wave offerings from the Israelites. I give these to you and your sons and daughters as a permanent share. Anyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

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.

12I give you all the best of the fresh oil, and all the best of the new wine and grain—the first portions they give to the LORD.

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.

13The first-rip ripened fruits of everything in their land which they bring to the LORD belong to you. Everyone in your household who is clean may eat them.

14Everything devoted in Israel shall be thine.

14Everything in Israel that is specially devoted to the LORD belongs to you.

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.

15The firstborn of every womb, whether human or animal, that is offered to the LORD is yours. But you must always redeem a firstborn son and the firstborn of unclean animals.

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).

16When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the set price of five silver shekels, according to the sanctuary weight, which 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.

17However, you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. Splash their blood against the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

18And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave-breast and as the right thigh, it shall be thine.

18Their meat belongs to you, just like the breast that is waved and the right thigh.

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.

19Whatever holy contributions the Israelites give to the LORD, I give to you and your sons and daughters as a permanent share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD for you and your offspring.

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.

20The LORD said to Aaron: You will have no inheritance in their land, and you will not own any share of it. I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.

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.

21I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do at the Tent of Meeting.

22And henceforth the children of Israel shall not come nigh the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin, and die.

22From now on, the other Israelites must not come near the Tent of Meeting, or they will be guilty of 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.

23Only the Levites are to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and carry the responsibility for any offenses. This is a permanent law for generations to come. They will receive no land inheritance among the Israelites.

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.

24Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as a contribution to the LORD. That is why I said they would have no inheritance among the Israelites.

25And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

25The LORD said to Moses,

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.

26Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as a contribution to the LORD.

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.

27Your contribution will be credited to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from 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.

28In this way, you also will present a contribution to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the LORD's portion 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.

29You must present the LORD’s portion from the very best of everything you receive—the best and holiest part.

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.

30Tell them: When you present the best part, it will be credited to you just as the produce of the threshing floor or the winepress is credited to the farmer.

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.

31You and your families may eat it anywhere, for it is your wages in return for your work at 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.

32You will not be guilty of any sin in this matter if you offer up the best part. Do not defile the holy gifts of the Israelites, or you will die.