⁶ Summon the tribe of Levi and station them before Aaron the priest to serve him.^{(A) 7} They shall discharge his obligations and those of the whole community before the tent of meeting^(B) by maintaining the tabernacle. ⁸ They shall have responsibility for all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and discharge the obligations of the Israelites by maintaining the tabernacle. ⁹ You shall assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons;^(C) they have been assigned unconditionally to him from among the Israelites.

² You shall also present with you your kinsmen of the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, that they may be joined to you^[a] and assist you, while you and your sons with you are in front of the tent of the covenant. ³ They shall discharge your obligations and those with respect to the whole tent; however, they shall not come near the utensils of the sanctuary or the altar, or else both they and you will die. ⁴ They will be joined to you to perform the duties associated with the tent of meeting, all the labor pertaining to the tent. But no unauthorized person^[b] shall come near you. ⁵ You shall perform the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, that wrath may not fall again upon the Israelites.