⁴ He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion^(A) due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord.

⁷ “For the lips of a priest^(A) ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger^(B) of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.^(C)

Offerings for Priests and Levites

⁸ Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion,^(A) your perpetual share.^{(B) 9} You are to have the part of the most holy offerings^(C) that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain^(D) or sin^[a](E) or guilt offerings,^(F) that part belongs to you and your sons. ¹⁰ Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it.^(G) You must regard it as holy.^(H)

¹¹ “This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings^(I) of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share.^(J) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean^(K) may eat it.

¹² “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain^(L) they give the Lord^(M) as the firstfruits of their harvest.^{(N) 13} All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours.^(O) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.^(P)

¹⁴ “Everything in Israel that is devoted^[b] to the Lord^(Q) is yours. ¹⁵ The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours.^(R) But you must redeem^(S) every firstborn^(T) son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.^{(U) 16} When they are a month old,^(V) you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels^[c](W) of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel,^(X) which weighs twenty gerahs.^(Y)

¹⁷ “But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat; they are holy.^(Z) Splash their blood^(AA) against the altar and burn their fat^(AB) as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.^{(AC) 18} Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering^(AD) and the right thigh are yours.^{(AE) 19} Whatever is set aside from the holy^(AF) offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt^(AG) before the Lord for both you and your offspring.”

²⁰ The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them;^(AH) I am your share and your inheritance^(AI) among the Israelites.

²¹ “I give to the Levites all the tithes^(AJ) in Israel as their inheritance^(AK) in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.^(AL)

⁶ Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.^(A)

⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”^[a](A) Is it about oxen that God is concerned?^{(B) 10} Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us,^(C) because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.^{(D) 11} If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?^{(E) 12} If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

But we did not use this right.^(F) On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder^(G) the gospel of Christ.

¹³ Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?^{(H) 14} In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.^(I)

¹⁰ I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them,^(A) and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields.^{(B) 11} So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?”^(C) Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.

¹² All Judah brought the tithes^(D) of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms.^{(E) 13} I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because they were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.^(F)

²⁶ “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you^(A) as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering.^{(B) 27} Your offering will be reckoned^(C) to you as grain from the threshing floor^(D) or juice from the winepress.^{(E) 28} In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes^(F) you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest.

⁸ “Will a mere mortal rob^(A) God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes^(B) and offerings. ⁹ You are under a curse^(C)—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe^(D) into the storehouse,^(E) that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates^(F) of heaven and pour out^(G) so much blessing^(H) that there will not be room enough to store it.^(I)

¹⁶ In addition, they distributed to the males three years old or more whose names were in the genealogical records^(A)—all who would enter the temple of the Lord to perform the daily duties of their various tasks, according to their responsibilities and their divisions.