⁵ for the Lord your God has chosen them^(A) and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister^(B) in the Lord’s name always.^(C)

⁸ At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi^(A) to carry the ark of the covenant^(B) of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister^(C) and to pronounce blessings^(D) in his name, as they still do today.^(E)

¹⁰ Appoint Aaron^(A) and his sons to serve as priests;^(B) anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.”^(C)

¹² Anyone who shows contempt^(A) for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering^(B) there to the Lord your God is to be put to death.^(C) You must purge the evil from Israel.^(D)

⁵ The staff belonging to the man I choose^(A) will sprout,^(B) and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling^(C) against you by the Israelites.”

⁶ So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them. ⁷ Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.^(D)

⁸ The next day Moses entered the tent^(E) and saw that Aaron’s staff,^(F) which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.^{(G) 9} Then Moses brought out all the staffs^(H) from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.

⁹ Isn’t it enough^(A) for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?^{(B) 10} He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.^(C)

⁵ Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy,^(A) and he will have that person come near him.^(B) The man he chooses^(C) he will cause to come near him.

The Priestly Garments

28 “Have Aaron^(A) your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu,^(B) Eleazar and Ithamar,^(C) so they may serve me as priests.^{(D) 2} Make sacred garments^(E) for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor.^{(F) 3} Tell all the skilled workers^(G) to whom I have given wisdom^(H) in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest. ⁴ These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece,^(I) an ephod,^(J) a robe,^(K) a woven tunic,^(L) a turban^(M) and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. ⁵ Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.^(N)

The Ephod^(O)

⁶ “Make the ephod^(P) of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands. ⁷ It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened. ⁸ Its skillfully woven waistband^(Q) is to be like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.

⁹ “Take two onyx stones and engrave^(R) on them the names of the sons of Israel ¹⁰ in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. ¹¹ Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings ¹² and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders^(S) as a memorial^(T) before the Lord. ¹³ Make gold filigree settings ¹⁴ and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.

¹³ He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood,^(A) because he was zealous^(B) for the honor^(C) of his God and made atonement^(D) for the Israelites.”^(E)