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Numbers 18
New International Reader's Version
Numbers 18
New International Reader's Version
Duties of Priests and Levites
18 The Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, “You, your sons and your family are in charge of the sacred tent. You will be responsible for sins connected with the tent. And you and your sons alone will be responsible for sins connected with the office of priest. 2 Bring the Levites from your tribe to join you. They will help you when you and your sons serve at the tent of meeting. That is where the tablets of the covenant law are kept. 3 The Levites will work for you. They must do everything that needs to be done at the tent. But they must not go near anything that belongs to the sacred tent. And they must not go near the altar. If they do, they and you will die. 4 They will help you take care of the tent of meeting. They will join you in all the work at the tent. No one else can come near you there.
5 “You will be responsible for taking care of the sacred tent and the altar. Then I will not be angry with the Israelites again. 6 I myself have chosen the Levites. I have chosen them from among the Israelites. They are a gift to you. I have set them apart to do the work at the tent of meeting. 7 But only you and your sons can serve as priests. Only you and your sons can work with everything at the altar and behind the curtain. I am letting you serve as priests. It is a gift from me. Anyone else who comes near the sacred tent must be put to death.”
Offerings for Priests and Levites
8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, “I have put you in charge of the offerings brought to me. The Israelites will give me holy offerings. I will give all their offerings to you and your sons. They are the part that belongs to you. They are your share for all time to come. 9 You will have a part of the very holy offerings. It is the part not burned in the fire. That part belongs to you and your sons. You will have a part of all the gifts the people bring me as very holy offerings. It does not matter whether they are grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings. 10 Eat your part as something that is very holy. Every male will eat it. You must consider it holy.
11 “Part of the gifts the Israelites bring as wave offerings will be set aside. That part will also belong to you. I will give it to you and your sons and daughters. It is your share for all time to come. Everyone in your home who is ‘clean’ can eat it.
12 “I will give you all the finest olive oil and grain the people give me. And I will give you all the finest fresh wine they give me. They give all those things as the first share of their harvest. 13 All the first shares of the harvest they bring me will belong to you. Everyone in your home who is ‘clean’ can eat it.
14 “Everything in Israel that is set apart to me belongs to you. 15 Offer to me every male born first to its mother. It belongs to you. That includes humans and animals alike. But you must buy back every oldest son. Suppose certain animals are ‘unclean.’ Then you must buy back every male born first to its mother. 16 When they are a month old, you must buy them back. You must pay the price to buy them back. The price is set at two ounces of silver. It must be weighed out according to the standard weights used in the sacred tent.
17 “But you must not buy back any male calf, sheep or goat born first. They are holy. Splash their blood against the altar. And burn their fat as a food offering. Its smell pleases me. 18 The meat will belong to you. It is just like the breast and the right thigh of the wave offering. Those parts belong to you. 19 Part of the holy offerings the Israelites bring to me will be set aside. No matter what it is, I will give it to you and your sons and daughters. It is your share for all time to come. It is a covenant of salt from me. The salt means that the covenant will last for all time to come for you and your children.”
20 The Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, “You will not receive any part of the land I am giving to Israel. You will not have any share among them. I am your share. I am what you will receive among the Israelites.
21 “The Israelites will give me a tenth of everything they produce. And I will give it to the Levites. They serve at the tent of meeting. I will give them the tenth for the work they do there. 22 From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting. If they do, they will be punished for their sin. They will die. 23 The Levites will do the work at the tent of meeting. They will be responsible for any sins connected with the tent. This is a law that will last for all time to come. The Levites will not receive any share among the Israelites. 24 Instead, I will give the Levites the tenth as their share. It is the tenth that the Israelites bring me as an offering. That is why I said the Levites would not have any share of land among the Israelites.”
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “Speak to the Levites. Say to them, ‘You will receive the tenth from the Israelites. I will give it to you as your share. When I do, you must give a tenth of that tenth as an offering to the Lord. 27 Your offering will be considered as if you gave grain from a threshing floor. It will be considered as juice from a winepress. 28 In that way, you also will bring an offering to the Lord. You will bring it from the tenth you receive from the Israelites. You must give the Lord’s part to the priest Aaron. You must bring it from the tenth you receive. 29 You must bring to the Lord a part of everything given to you. It must be the best and holiest part.’
30 “Say to the Levites, ‘You must bring the best part. Then it will be considered as if you gave grain from a threshing floor. It will be considered as juice from a winepress. 31 You and your families can eat the rest of it anywhere. It is your pay for your work at the tent of meeting. 32 Bring the best part of what you receive. Then you will not be guilty of holding anything back. You will not make the holy offerings of the Israelites “unclean.” You will not die.’ ”
Numbers 18
New International Version
Numbers 18
New International Version
Duties of Priests and Levites
18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary,(A) and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood. 2 Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister(B) before the tent of the covenant law. 3 They are to be responsible to you(C) and are to perform all the duties of the tent,(D) but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar. Otherwise both they and you will die.(E) 4 They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting—all the work at the tent—and no one else may come near where you are.(F)
5 “You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar,(G) so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelites again. 6 I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you,(H) dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the tent of meeting.(I) 7 But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain.(J) I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift.(K) Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.(L)”
Offerings for Priests and Levites
8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion,(M) your perpetual share.(N) 9 You are to have the part of the most holy offerings(O) that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain(P) or sin[a](Q) or guilt offerings,(R) that part belongs to you and your sons. 10 Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it.(S) You must regard it as holy.(T)
11 “This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings(U) of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share.(V) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean(W) may eat it.
12 “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain(X) they give the Lord(Y) as the firstfruits of their harvest.(Z) 13 All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours.(AA) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.(AB)
14 “Everything in Israel that is devoted[b] to the Lord(AC) is yours. 15 The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours.(AD) But you must redeem(AE) every firstborn(AF) son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.(AG) 16 When they are a month old,(AH) you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels[c](AI) of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel,(AJ) which weighs twenty gerahs.(AK)
17 “But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat; they are holy.(AL) Splash their blood(AM) against the altar and burn their fat(AN) as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(AO) 18 Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering(AP) and the right thigh are yours.(AQ) 19 Whatever is set aside from the holy(AR) offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt(AS) before the Lord for both you and your offspring.”
20 The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them;(AT) I am your share and your inheritance(AU) among the Israelites.
21 “I give to the Levites all the tithes(AV) in Israel as their inheritance(AW) in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.(AX) 22 From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die.(AY) 23 It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance(AZ) for the generations to come.(BA) They will receive no inheritance(BB) among the Israelites.(BC) 24 Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord.(BD) That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you(BE) as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering.(BF) 27 Your offering will be reckoned(BG) to you as grain from the threshing floor(BH) or juice from the winepress.(BI) 28 In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes(BJ) you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. 29 You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’
30 “Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress.(BK) 31 You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting.(BL) 32 By presenting the best part(BM) of it you will not be guilty in this matter;(BN) then you will not defile the holy offerings(BO) of the Israelites, and you will not die.’”
Footnotes
- Numbers 18:9 Or purification
- Numbers 18:14 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
- Numbers 18:16 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
Numbers 18
New King James Version
Numbers 18
New King James Version
Duties of Priests and Levites
18 Then the Lord said to Aaron: (A)“You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall (B)bear the [a]iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. 2 Also bring with you your brethren of the (C)tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be (D)joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of [b]witness. 3 They shall attend to your [c]needs and (E)all the needs of the tabernacle; (F)but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, (G)lest they die—they and you also. 4 They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; (H)but an outsider shall not come near you. 5 And you shall attend to (I)the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, (J)that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. 6 Behold, I Myself have (K)taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; (L)they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Therefore (M)you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and (N)behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a (O)gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
Offerings for Support of the Priests
8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, (P)I Myself have also given you [d]charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them (Q)as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. 9 This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every (R)grain offering and every (S)sin offering and every (T)trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons. 10 (U)In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.
11 “This also is yours: (V)the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. (W)Everyone who is [e]clean in your house may eat it.
12 (X)“All the [f]best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, (Y)their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you. 13 Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, (Z)which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
14 (AA)“Every [g]devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.
15 “Everything that first opens (AB)the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless (AC)the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, (AD)according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is (AE)twenty gerahs. 17 (AF)But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. (AG)You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 18 And their flesh shall be yours, just as the (AH)wave[h] breast and the right thigh are yours.
19 “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; (AI)it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”
20 Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have (AJ)no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; (AK)I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
Tithes for Support of the Levites
21 “Behold, (AL)I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as [i]an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, (AM)the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 22 (AN)Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, (AO)lest they bear sin and die. 23 But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites [j]as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ”
The Tithe of the Levites
25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, (AP)a tenth of the tithe. 27 And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the (AQ)threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. 28 Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. 29 Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the Lord, from all the [k]best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ 30 Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. 31 You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is (AR)your [l]reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting. 32 And you shall (AS)bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not (AT)profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ”
Footnotes
- Numbers 18:1 guilt
- Numbers 18:2 testimony
- Numbers 18:3 service
- Numbers 18:8 custody
- Numbers 18:11 purified
- Numbers 18:12 Lit. fat
- Numbers 18:14 consecrated
- Numbers 18:18 breast of the wave offering
- Numbers 18:21 a possession
- Numbers 18:24 for a possession
- Numbers 18:29 Lit. fat
- Numbers 18:31 wages
Numbers 18
English Standard Version
Numbers 18
English Standard Version
Duties of Priests and Levites
18 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father's house with you shall (A)bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, (B)and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. 2 And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may (C)join you and (D)minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3 They shall keep guard over you and (E)over the whole tent, (F)but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar (G)lest they, and you, die. 4 They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, (H)and no outsider shall come near you. 5 And you shall (I)keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, (J)that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. 6 (K)And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. (L)They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 7 And (M)you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and (N)that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift,[a] and (O)any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Behold, (P)I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you (Q)as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due. 9 This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every (R)sin offering of theirs and every (S)guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons. 10 In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it; it is holy to you. 11 This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the (T)wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to (U)you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. (V)Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 12 (W)All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, (X)the firstfruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you. 13 The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, (Y)which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. (Z)Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 14 (AA)Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 (AB)Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours. Nevertheless, (AC)the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 And their redemption price (AD)(at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels[b] in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, (AE)which is twenty gerahs. 17 (AF)But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 18 But their flesh shall be yours, as (AG)the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours. 19 (AH)All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. (AI)It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.” 20 And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. (AJ)I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
21 (AK)“To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, 22 (AL)so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, (AM)lest they bear sin and die. 23 But (AN)the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, (AO)and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the people of Israel, which (AP)they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance (AQ)among the people of Israel.”
25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, (AR)a tithe of the tithe. 27 (AS)And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. 28 So you shall also present a contribution to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the Lord's contribution to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the Lord; from each its best part is to be dedicated.’ 30 Therefore you shall say to them, ‘When you have offered from it the best of it, (AT)then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress. 31 And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is (AU)your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 And you shall (AV)bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not (AW)profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.’”
Footnotes
- Numbers 18:7 Hebrew service of gift
- Numbers 18:16 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
New International Reader's Version (NIRV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.