⁴ Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute ^(A)support^[a] for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to ^(B)the Law of the Lord.

Offerings for Support of the Priests

⁸ And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, ^(A)I Myself have also given you ^[a]charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them ^(B)as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. ⁹ This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every ^(C)grain offering and every ^(D)sin offering and every ^(E)trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons. ^10 (F)In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.

¹¹ “This also is yours: ^(G)the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. ^(H)Everyone who is ^[b]clean in your house may eat it.

^12 (I)“All the ^[c]best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, ^(J)their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you. ¹³ Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, ^(K)which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

^14 (L)“Every ^[d]devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

¹⁵ “Everything that first opens ^(M)the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless ^(N)the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, ^(O)according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is ^(P)twenty gerahs. ^17 (Q)But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. ^(R)You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. ¹⁸ And their flesh shall be yours, just as the ^(S)wave^[e] breast and the right thigh are yours.

¹⁹ “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; ^(T)it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have ^(U)no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; ^(V)I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.

Tithes for Support of the Levites

²¹ “Behold, ^(W)I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as ^[f]an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, ^(X)the work of the tabernacle of meeting.

Be Generous and Do Good

^6 (A)Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

⁹ For it is written in the law of Moses, ^(A)“You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about? ¹⁰ Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that ^(B)he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. ^11 (C)If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? ¹² If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more?

^(D)Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things ^(E)lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. ^13 (F)Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the ^(G)temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? ¹⁴ Even so ^(H)the Lord has commanded ^(I)that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

¹⁰ I also realized that the portions for the Levites had ^(A)not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to ^(B)his field. ¹¹ So ^(C)I contended with the rulers, and said, ^(D)“Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. ^12 (E)Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. ^13 (F)And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered ^(G)faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.

²⁶ “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, ^(A)a tenth of the tithe. ²⁷ And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the ^(B)threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. ²⁸ Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest.

Do Not Rob God

¹⁶ Besides those males from three years old and up who were written in the genealogy, they distributed to everyone who entered the house of the Lord his daily portion for the work of his service, by his division,