² Then David said, “No one may carry the ^(A)ark of God but the Levites, for ^(B)the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.”

⁸ At that time ^(A)the Lord ^[a]separated the tribe of Levi ^(B)to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, ^(C)to stand before the Lord to minister to Him and ^(D)to bless in His name, to this day.

¹⁷ “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never ^(A)lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ¹⁸ nor shall the ^(B)priests, the Levites, lack a man to ^(C)offer burnt offerings before Me, to ^[a]kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”

The Permanence of God’s Covenant

¹⁹ And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰ “Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, ²¹ then ^(D)My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. ²² As ^(E)the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I ^(F)multiply the descendants of David My servant and the ^(G)Levites who minister to Me.’ ”

The Law to Be Read Every Seven Years

⁹ So Moses wrote this law ^(A)and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, ^(B)who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 Then the Lord said to Aaron: ^(A)“You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall ^(B)bear the ^[a]iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. ² Also bring with you your brethren of the ^(C)tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be ^(D)joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of ^[b]witness. ³ They shall attend to your ^[c]needs and ^(E)all the needs of the tabernacle; ^(F)but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, ^(G)lest they die—they and you also. ⁴ They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; ^(H)but an outsider shall not come near you. ⁵ And you shall attend to ^(I)the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, ^(J)that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. ⁶ Behold, I Myself have ^(K)taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; ^(L)they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁷ Therefore ^(M)you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and ^(N)behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a ^(O)gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Offerings for Support of the Priests

⁸ And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, ^(P)I Myself have also given you ^[d]charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them ^(Q)as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever.