⁷ But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain.^(A) I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift.^(B) Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.^(C)”

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)

³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,^{(A) 4} which had the golden altar of incense^(B) and the gold-covered ark of the covenant.^(C) This ark contained the gold jar of manna,^(D) Aaron’s staff that had budded,^(E) and the stone tablets of the covenant.^{(F) 5} Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory,^(G) overshadowing the atonement cover.^(H) But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

⁶ When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly^(I) into the outer room to carry on their ministry.

⁴ And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.^(A)

⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people,^(A) this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles^(B) the boundless riches of Christ,^(C)

¹⁵ Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me^{(A) 16} to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles.^(B) He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God,^(C) so that the Gentiles might become an offering^(D) acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

²⁷ To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.

²⁸ I chose^(A) your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense,^(B) and to wear an ephod^(C) in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings^(D) presented by the Israelites.

²⁰ The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them;^(A) I am your share and your inheritance^(B) among the Israelites.