¹¹ My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has ^(A)chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense.”

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.

⁷ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for ^(A)whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap ^(B)everlasting life.

⁶ “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. ⁷ Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle ^(A)water of purification on them, and ^(B)let^[a] them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. ⁸ Then let them take a young bull with ^(C)its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. ^9 (D)And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, ^(E)and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. ¹⁰ So you shall bring the Levites before the Lord, and the children of Israel ^(F)shall lay their hands on the Levites; ¹¹ and Aaron shall ^[b]offer the Levites before the Lord like a ^(G)wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the Lord. ^12 (H)Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.

¹³ “And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ Thus you shall ^(I)separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be ^(J)Mine.

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

³⁵ And ^(A)a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.

³⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for ^(B)they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. ³⁸ The censers of ^(C)these men who sinned ^[a]against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; ^(D)and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.” ³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar, ⁴⁰ to be a ^[b]memorial to the children of Israel ^(E)that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.

^6 (A)“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ⁷ And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do ^(B)the work of the tabernacle. ⁸ Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. ⁹ And ^(C)you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to ^[a]him from among the children of Israel.