Beginning
Kohen Duties and Portions
18 Adonai said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and the house of your father with you will bear the guilt for the Sanctuary, and you and your sons will bear the guilt for your priesthood. 2 Bring with you your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join you and assist you, both you and your sons with you, before the Tent of the Testimony. 3 They are to perform their duties for you and for all matters related to the Tent. They must not approach the implements of the Sanctuary or the altar—otherwise, both you and they will die. 4 They are to team with you and attend to the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent. But no unauthorized person may intrude upon you. 5 So you are to attend to the Sanctuary and the care of the altar, so no further wrath will fall on Bnei-Yisrael.
6 “See, I have personally taken your kinsmen, the Levites, from among Bnei-Yisrael as a gift for you and your sons with you, dedicated to Adonai to serve in the work of the Tent of Meeting. 7 But you and your sons with you are to maintain your priesthood for everything pertaining to the altar and inside the parokhet. I am giving you the ministry of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone unauthorized who approaches will die.”
8 Adonai then said to Aaron, “See, I have given you charge over all My offerings. All the sacred things from Bnei-Yisrael I have given to you as set aside for you and your sons as a permanent share. 9 You are to have the part of the most holy things that is kept from the fire. Whether grain, sin or guilt offerings that they bring to Me as most holy—they are for you and your sons. 10 You are to eat it as most holy. Every male may eat it—it is set apart for you. 11 This also is yours: the gift of the wave offerings of Bnei-Yisrael. I have given all the wave offerings as a permanent share to you, your sons and your daughters. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 12 All the finest olive oil, the finest new wine and grain they give to Adonai from their firstfruits, I have given them to you. 13 All the firstfruits of the land that they bring to Adonai will be for yours. Anyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
14 Every devoted thing in Israel is yours. 15 The first offspring of the womb from all flesh, whether human or animal, offered to Adonai, is yours. However, you are to redeem the firstborn of man and the firstborn of unclean animals. 16 When they are a month old, you are to redeem them at the redemption price of five shekels of silver by the Sanctuary shekel, or 20 gerahs. 17 But the firstborn of the ox, sheep or goat you are not to redeem. They are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar, and their fat you are to burn as a fire offering, a pleasing aroma to Adonai. 18 Their meat—the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh—is yours. 19 Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings which Bnei-Yisrael present to Adonai, I have given to you, your sons and your daughters with you as a permanent share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before Adonai for you and your offspring.”
20 Adonai said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land nor share among them. I am your portion and your share among Bnei-Yisrael. 21 See, I have given all the tithes in Israel to the sons of Levi as an inheritance in return for all the work of the service they are doing in the Tent of Meeting. 22 From now on, Bnei-Yisrael must never trespass the Tent of Meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and die. 23 The Levites will perform the service of the Tent of Meeting. They will bear the responsibility for their iniquity. It is a permanent ordinance throughout your generations. So among Bnei-Yisrael they are to receive no inheritance.
24 For I have given the tithes that Bnei-Yisrael present to Adonai as an offering to the Levites as an inheritance. That is why I said they would receive no inheritance among Bnei-Yisrael.”
25 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 26 “Speak now to the Levites and say to them: When you receive from Bnei-Yisrael the tithe which I have given to you as your inheritance, you are then to offer to Adonai a tithe of that tithe. 27 Your offering will be reckoned as grain from the threshing floor or the fullness of the winepress. 28 Thus you will also present an offering to Adonai from all your tithes that you receive from Bnei-Yisrael, and from that you are to give Adonai’s portion to Aaron the kohen. 29 From all your gifts that you receive, you are to present the best and holiest from them as Adonai’s portion.
30 “Say to them: When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and of the winepress. 31 You and your household may eat it in any place. It is your wage for your service in the Tent of Meeting.
32 “In presenting the best part in this manner, you will bear no guilt in these matters. You will not defile the holy things of Bnei-Yisrael, so you will not die.”
Parashat Chukat
Red Heifer and Cleansing Water
19 Adonai spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, 2 “This is the statute of the Torah which Adonai commanded saying: Speak to Bnei-Yisrael that they bring to you a flawless red heifer on which there is no blemish and on which has never been a yoke. 3 Give her to Eleazar the kohen. He will take her outside the camp and slaughter her in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the kohen is to take some of the blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.
5 “While watching, he is to burn the heifer, her hide, flesh, blood and refuse. 6 The kohen is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool, and cast them into the midst of the burning heifer.
7 “Afterward, the kohen is to wash his clothes and bathe his flesh with the water, and afterward he may come back into the camp. Still the kohen will be unclean until evening. 8 Also the one burning it is to wash his clothes and bathe his flesh with the water, and he will be unclean until evening.
9 “A clean man is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a clean place outside the camp. They are to be for the community of Bnei-Yisrael to use as water of purification from sin.
10 “The one who gathers the heifer’s ashes is also to wash his clothes as well as be unclean until evening. It will be a permanent statute for Bnei-Yisrael and for the outsider living among them.
11 “Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days. 12 He is to purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day. Then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. 13 Anyone touching the dead body of any man, who does not purify himself, defiles Adonai’s Tabernacle, and that person will be cut off from Israel. Because the cleansing water was not sprinkled on him, he is unclean and his uncleanness will remain on him.
14 “This is the Torah for whenever a person dies in a tent. Anyone entering the tent or anyone inside the tent will be unclean seven days. 15 Any open container not having a lid fastened on it will also be unclean. 16 Anyone out in the open field who touches a dead body, whether killed by a sword or was killed by a natural cause, or touches a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 “For the unclean one, they are to take some of the ash of the burnt purification offering, and pour some fresh water into a jar. 18 Then a clean person will take some hyssop, dip it into the water, and, sprinkle it on the tent, all of the furnishings, and the people who were there, as well as the one touching the bone, the one killed, the corpse or the grave.
19 The clean person will sprinkle the unclean one on the third and seventh days. He is to purify himself on the seventh day, and on the seventh day he is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he will be clean.
20 However, that man who is unclean but does not purify himself will be cut off from the community. He has defiled the Sanctuary of Adonai, since the cleansing water was not sprinkled on him. He is unclean. 21 This will be a permanent ordinance for them. The one sprinkling the cleansing water is also to wash his clothes, and anyone touching the cleansing water will be unclean until evening. 22 Anything touched by an unclean person becomes unclean, and anyone touching it will be unclean until evening.”
Water from the Rock
20 In the first month, the entire community of Bnei-Yisrael arrived at the wilderness of Zin. The people stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
2 Now there was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people quarreled with Moses saying, “If only we had died when our brothers died before Adonai! 4 Now why have you brought the community of Adonai into this wilderness, for us and our livestock to die here? 5 Why have you brought us from Egypt to bring us to this evil place—a place without grain, fig, grapevine or pomegranate—and there’s no water to drink!”
6 So Moses and Aaron went from before the assembly to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and fell on their faces.
Then the glory of Adonai appeared to them. 7 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 8 “Take the staff and gather the assembly, you and your brother Aaron. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will give out its water.[a] You will bring out water from the rock, and you will give the community something to drink, along with their livestock.”
9 So Moses took the staff from before the presence of Adonai, just as He had commanded him.
10 Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock. He said, “Listen now, you rebels! Must we bring you water from this rock?”
11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with the staff. Water gushed out and the community and its livestock drank.
12 But Adonai said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in Me so as to esteem Me as holy in the eyes of Bnei-Yisrael, therefore you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given to them.”
13 These are the waters of Meribah where Bnei-Yisrael contended with Moses, and where Adonai showed Himself holy among them.
Edom Denies Passage
14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother, Israel:
‘You know all the hardship that came on us. 15 Our forefathers went down to Egypt, so we lived there for a very long time. The Egyptians mistreated us, and our fathers. 16 But we cried out to Adonai, He heard our cry, sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. See now, we are at Kadesh, a town on the frontier of your territory. 17 Permit us to pass through your territory. We will not cross through any field or vineyard or drink water of any well. But we will travel on the king’s highway. We will not deviate to the right or left until we will have passed through your territory.’”
18 But Edom said to him, “You may not pass through me—or I will march out against you with the sword.”
19 Bnei-Yisrael then said to him, “We will travel on the main road, and if we or our livestock even drink any of your water, we will pay its price. It’s nothing, just to pass through on foot!”
20 He answered, “You may not pass through!” Yet Edom came out to oppose them with a large and well-armed people. 21 Since Edom refused to permit Israel to cross through her territory, Israel turned away from them.
Aaron Gathered To His People
22 The entirety of the community of Bnei-Yisrael set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.
23 Now at Mount Hor, near the Edomite border, Adonai said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land, which I have given to Bnei-Yisrael, because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and his son Eleazar, and take them up Mount Hor. 26 Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, and Aaron will be gathered up and will die there.”
27 Moses did as Adonai commanded. They ascended Mount Hor before the eyes of the whole community. 28 Moses removed Aaron’s garments and placed them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there at the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar descended the mountain.
29 When they saw that Aaron had died, the entire community mourned Aaron 30 days.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.