¹⁴ “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the other Israelites, and the Levites shall be mine.^(A)

¹⁷ They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve them.^(A)

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.^(A)

⁴⁵ “Take the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for their livestock, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.^(A)

²⁶ For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.^(A)

¹⁵ But when the one^[a] who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace was pleased^(A)

Salutation

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

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)

⁹ Is it too little for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to allow you to approach him in order to perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the congregation and serve them?^{(A) 10} He has allowed you to approach him, and all your brother Levites with you, yet you seek the priesthood as well!

¹⁷ For all the firstborn among the Israelites are mine, both human and animal. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself,