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)

⁵ Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to him and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord, and by their decision all cases of dispute and assault shall be settled.^(A)

⁵ For the Lord your God has chosen Levi^[a] out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time.^(A)

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

⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, so that they may assist him.^(A)

¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.^(A)

²⁷ Then the priests and the Levites stood up and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; their prayer came to his holy dwelling in heaven.^(A)

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

¹² He said to them, “You are the heads of families of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your kindred, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it.^{(A) 13} Because you did not carry it^[a] the first time,^[b] the Lord our God burst out against us because we did not give it proper care.”^{(B) 14} So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel.^{(C) 15} And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.^(D)

Responsibility of Priests and Levites

18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your ancestral house with you shall bear responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, while you and your sons alone shall bear responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood.^{(A) 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.^{(B) 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.^{(C) 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.^{(D) 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.^{(E) 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.^{(F) 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.”^(G)

The Priests’ Portion

⁸ The Lord spoke to Aaron, “I have given you charge of the offerings made to me, all the holy gifts of the Israelites; I have given them to you and your sons as a priestly portion due you in perpetuity.^{(H) 9} This shall be yours from the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs that they render to me as a most holy thing, whether grain offering, purification offering, or guilt offering, shall belong to you and your sons.^{(I) 10} As a most holy thing you shall eat it; every male may eat it; it shall be holy to you.^{(J) 11} This also is yours: I have given to you, together with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual due, whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the elevation offerings of the Israelites; everyone who is clean in your house may eat them.^{(K) 12} All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the choice produce that they give to the Lord, I have given to you.^{(L) 13} The first fruits of all that is in their land that they bring to the Lord shall be yours; everyone who is clean in your house may eat of it.^{(M) 14} Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.^{(N) 15} The first issue of the womb of all creatures, human and animal, that is offered to the Lord shall be yours, but the firstborn of human beings you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.^{(O) 16} Their redemption price, reckoned from one month of age, you shall fix at five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary (that is, twenty gerahs).^{(P) 17} 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 dash their blood on the altar and turn their fat into smoke as an offering by fire^[b] for a pleasing odor to the Lord,^{(Q) 18} but their flesh shall be yours, just as the breast that is elevated and as the right thigh are yours. ¹⁹ All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the Lord I have given to you, together with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual due; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and your descendants as well.”^{(R) 20} Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no allotment in their land, nor shall you have any share among them; I am your share and your possession among the Israelites.^(S)