² Then David commanded that no one but the Levites were to carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever.^(A)

⁸ At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day.^(A)

The Law to Be Read Every Seventh Year

⁹ Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.^(A)

¹⁷ For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel,^{(A) 18} and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to make grain offerings, and to make sacrifices for all time.^(B)

¹⁹ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁰ Thus says the Lord: If any of you could break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night would not come at their appointed time,^{(C) 21} only then could my covenant with my servant David be broken, so that he would not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with my ministers the Levites.^{(D) 22} Just as the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will increase the offspring of my servant David and the Levites who minister to me.^(E)

³ and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it,^(A)

Responsibility of Priests and Levites

18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your ancestral house with you shall bear responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, while you and your sons alone shall bear responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood.^{(A) 2} So bring with you also your brothers of the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, in order that they may be joined to you and serve you while you and your sons with you are in front of the tent of the covenant.^{(B) 3} They shall perform duties for you and for the whole tent. But they must not approach either the utensils of the sanctuary or the altar, or else both they and you will die.^{(C) 4} They are attached to you in order to perform the duties of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; no outsider shall approach you.^{(D) 5} You yourselves shall perform the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, so that wrath may never again come upon the Israelites.^{(E) 6} It is I who now take your brother Levites from among the Israelites; they are now yours as a gift, dedicated to the Lord, to perform the service of the tent of meeting.^{(F) 7} But you and your sons with you shall diligently perform your priestly duties in all that concerns the altar and the area behind the curtain. I give your priesthood as a gift;^[a] any outsider who approaches shall be put to death.”^(G)

The Priests’ Portion

⁸ The Lord spoke to Aaron, “I have given you charge of the offerings made to me, all the holy gifts of the Israelites; I have given them to you and your sons as a priestly portion due you in perpetuity.^(H)

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.”

²⁴ “This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and up they shall begin to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting;^{(A) 25} and from the age of fifty years they shall retire from the duty of the service and serve no more. ²⁶ They may assist their brothers in the tent of meeting in carrying out their duties, but they shall perform no service. Thus you shall do with the Levites in assigning their duties.”

¹³ Then you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you shall present them as an elevation offering to the Lord.

¹⁴ “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the other Israelites, and the Levites shall be mine.^(A)