³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,

And Aaron was silent.

²² Even the priests who regularly come near to the Lord must purify themselves so that the Lord does not break out and destroy them.”

⁶ They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”

¹² He said to them, “You are the leaders of the Levite families. You must purify yourselves and all your fellow Levites, so you can bring the Ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³ Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the Lord our God burst out against us. We failed to ask God how to move it properly.”

³⁰ “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi^[a] would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.

²⁸ Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. ²⁹ For our God is a devouring fire.