¹¹ My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence to minister to him and to be his ministers and offer incense.”^(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)

⁷ Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.^{(A) 8} If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh, but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.^(B)

⁶ “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and cleanse them. ⁷ Thus you shall do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification on them; have them shave their whole body with a razor and wash their clothes and so cleanse themselves.^{(A) 8} Then let them take a young bull and its grain offering of choice flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull for a purification offering.^{(B) 9} You shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the whole congregation of the Israelites.^{(C) 10} When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the Israelites shall lay their hands on the Levites, ¹¹ and Aaron shall present the Levites before the Lord as an elevation offering from the Israelites, that they may do the service of the Lord. ¹² The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and he shall offer the one for a purification offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.^{(D) 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.^(E)

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.^{(A) 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.^{(B) 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.^{(C) 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.^{(D) 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.^{(E) 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.”^(F)

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

^36 [a]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to take the censers out of the blaze, then scatter the fire far and wide. ³⁸ For the censers of these sinners have become holy at the cost of their lives. Make them into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they presented them before the Lord and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the Israelites.”^{(B) 39} So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that had been presented by those who were burned, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar— ⁴⁰ a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, shall approach to offer incense before the Lord, so as not to become like Korah and his congregation, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.^(C)

⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, so that they may assist him.^{(A) 7} They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, doing service at the tabernacle; ⁸ they shall be in charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and attend to the duties for the Israelites as they do service at the tabernacle. ⁹ You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his descendants; they are unreservedly given to him from among the Israelites.^(B)