At that time (A)the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi (B)to carry 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.

Read full chapter

Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen (A)them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and (B)by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled.

Read full chapter

For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes (A)to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time.

Read full chapter

15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that (A)the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, (B)but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

Read full chapter

is it (A)too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has (B)separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?

Read full chapter

23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus (A)you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

24 The Lord (B)bless you and (C)keep you;
25 the Lord (D)make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord (E)lift up his countenance[a] upon you and give you peace.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 6:26 Or face

(A)“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.

Read full chapter

16 You did not choose me, but (A)I chose you and appointed you that you should go and (B)bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that (C)whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Read full chapter

19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(A)“If you return, I will restore you,
    and you shall (B)stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
    you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
    but you shall not turn to them.

Read full chapter

27 Then (A)the priests and the Levites arose and (B)blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to (C)his holy habitation in heaven.

Read full chapter

26 And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they sacrificed (A)seven bulls and seven rams.

Read full chapter

12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites. (A)Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, (B)to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 (C)Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders (D)with the poles, (E)as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.

Read full chapter

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father's house with you shall (A)bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, (B)and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may (C)join you and (D)minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. They shall keep guard over you and (E)over the whole tent, (F)but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar (G)lest they, and you, die. They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, (H)and no outsider shall come near you. And you shall (I)keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, (J)that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. (K)And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. (L)They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. And (M)you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and (N)that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift,[a] and (O)any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Behold, (P)I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you (Q)as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due. This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every (R)sin offering of theirs and every (S)guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons. 10 In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it; it is holy to you. 11 This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the (T)wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to (U)you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. (V)Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 12 (W)All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, (X)the firstfruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you. 13 The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, (Y)which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. (Z)Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 14 (AA)Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 (AB)Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours. Nevertheless, (AC)the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 And their redemption price (AD)(at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels[b] in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, (AE)which is twenty gerahs. 17 (AF)But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 18 But their flesh shall be yours, as (AG)the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours. 19 (AH)All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. (AI)It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.” 20 And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. (AJ)I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.

21 (AK)“To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, 22 (AL)so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, (AM)lest they bear sin and die. 23 But (AN)the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, (AO)and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the people of Israel, which (AP)they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance (AQ)among the people of Israel.”

25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, (AR)a tithe of the tithe. 27 (AS)And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. 28 So you shall also present a contribution to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the Lord's contribution to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the Lord; from each its best part is to be dedicated.’ 30 Therefore you shall say to them, ‘When you have offered from it the best of it, (AT)then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress. 31 And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is (AU)your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 And you shall (AV)bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not (AW)profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.’”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 18:7 Hebrew service of gift
  2. Numbers 18:16 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

Levites Exempted

47 But (A)the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. 48 For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. 50 (B)But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it (C)and shall camp around the tabernacle. 51 (D)When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. (E)And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death. 52 The people of Israel shall pitch their tents by their companies, each man in his own camp and (F)each man by his own standard. 53 But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no (G)wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. (H)And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.”

Read full chapter

22 Then Aaron (A)lifted up his hands toward the people and (B)blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings.

Read full chapter

Consecration of the Priests

29 “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. (A)Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, (B)and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams. You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and (C)wash them with water. Then (D)you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the (E)skillfully woven band of the ephod. (F)And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. You shall take (G)the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. Then you (H)shall bring his sons and put coats on them, and you shall gird Aaron and his sons with (I)sashes and bind caps on them. And (J)the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever. Thus you shall (K)ordain Aaron and his sons.

10 “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. (L)Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. 11 Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 12 and (M)shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the (N)horns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of[a] the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. 13 And you shall take all (O)the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire (P)outside the camp; (Q)it is a sin offering.

15 “Then (R)you shall take one of the rams, and (S)Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 16 and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. 17 Then you shall (T)cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, 18 and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a (U)pleasing aroma, a food offering[b] to the Lord.

19 (V)“You shall take the other ram, (W)and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 20 and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. 21 Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the (X)anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons' garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.

22 “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the (Y)fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of (Z)ordination), 23 and (AA)one loaf of bread and one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. 24 You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and (AB)wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. 25 Then (AC)you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a (AD)pleasing aroma before the Lord. It is a food offering to the Lord.

26 “You shall take the (AE)breast of the ram of Aaron's (AF)ordination and (AG)wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion. 27 And you shall consecrate the (AH)breast of the wave offering that is waved and the (AI)thigh of the priests' portion that is contributed from the ram of (AJ)ordination, from what was Aaron's and his sons'. 28 It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a (AK)perpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a (AL)contribution. It shall be a (AM)contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.

29 “The holy garments of Aaron (AN)shall be for his sons after him; they shall (AO)be anointed in them and ordained in them. 30 The son who succeeds him as priest, who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, shall wear them (AP)seven days.

31 “You shall take the ram of ordination and (AQ)boil its flesh in a holy place. 32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the (AR)bread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 33 (AS)They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration, but an (AT)outsider shall not eat of them, because they are holy. 34 And if any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remain until the morning, then you shall (AU)burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

35 “Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through (AV)seven days shall you ordain them, 36 and every day you shall offer a (AW)bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall (AX)anoint it to consecrate it. 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the (AY)altar shall be most holy. (AZ)Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 29:12 Hebrew all
  2. Exodus 29:18 Or an offering by fire; also verses 25, 41

15 But when he (A)who had set me apart (B)before I was born,[a] and who (C)called me by his grace,

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Galatians 1:15 Greek set me apart from my mother's womb

17 Therefore (A)go out from their midst,
    and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
    then I will welcome you,

Read full chapter

if (A)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;

Read full chapter

Greeting

Paul, (A)a servant[a] of Christ Jesus, (B)called to be an apostle, (C)set apart for the gospel of God,

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Romans 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, (A)the Holy Spirit said, (B)“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul (C)for the work to which I have called them.”

Read full chapter

Rules for Levitical Priests

15 “But (A)the Levitical priests, (B)the sons of Zadok, who kept (C)the charge of my sanctuary (D)when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me (E)to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me (F)the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God.

Read full chapter

11 They shall be (A)ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight (B)at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and (C)they shall stand before the people, to minister to them.

Read full chapter

who (A)stand in the house of the Lord,
    in (B)the courts of the house of our God!

Read full chapter

(A)Lift up your hands to (B)the holy place
    and bless the Lord!

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends

ESV Thinline Bible, Bonded leather, Black
ESV Thinline Bible, Bonded leather, Black
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $28.99
Save: $16.00 (36%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible, Hardcover, Gray
ESV Student Study Bible, Hardcover, Gray
Retail: $34.99
Our Price: $18.99
Save: $16.00 (46%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible, Hardcover
ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible, Hardcover
Retail: $39.99
Our Price: $15.99
Save: $24.00 (60%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Chestnut
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Chestnut
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $28.99
Save: $16.00 (36%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
John, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
John, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
Retail: $6.99
Our Price: $4.79
Save: $2.20 (31%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible (TruTone, Gray), Leather, imitation, Grey
ESV Student Study Bible (TruTone, Gray), Leather, imitation, Grey
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $28.99
Save: $16.00 (36%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars