⁹ Is it ^(A)a small thing to you that the God of Israel has ^(B)separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to serve them;

¹³ Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?

⁸ At that time ^(A)the Lord ^[a]separated the tribe of Levi ^(B)to bear 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.

Laws Governing Priests

^10 (A)“And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. ¹¹ Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, ^(B)as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; ^(C)they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and ^(D)they shall stand before them to minister to them.

Temple Responsibilities

^44 (A)And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the ^(B)tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ^[a]ministered.

²³ So Saul’s servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?”

¹³ Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of ^(A)a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should ^(B)keep acting like a prince over us?

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

^53 (A)but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no ^(B)wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel; and the Levites shall ^(C)keep^[a] charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

¹⁸ Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the ^[a]residue of your pasture—and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet?