Duties of the Levites

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 ^h“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, ⁱas they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And ^jyou shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are ^kwholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and ^lthey shall guard their priesthood. But if ^many outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, ⁿI have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for ^oall the firstborn are mine. ^pOn the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

Cleansing of the Levites

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. 7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the ^jwater of purification upon them, and ^klet them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8 Then let them take a bull from the herd and ^lits grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, ^mand you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. 9 ⁿAnd you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting ^oand assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. 10 When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel ^pshall lay their hands on the Levites, 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord. 12 Then the Levites ^qshall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer ^rthe one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement for the Levites. 13 And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as ^sa wave offering to the Lord.

14 “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and ^tthe Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a ^swave offering. 16 For they are ^uwholly given to me from among the people of Israel. ^vInstead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. 17 ^wFor all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, 18 and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. 19 ^uAnd I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and ^xto make atonement for the people of Israel, ^ythat there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.”

20 Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. 21 And ^zthe Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and ^aAaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Duties of Priests and Levites

1 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall ^qbear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, ^rand 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 ^sjoin you and ^tminister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3 They shall keep guard over you and ^uover the whole tent, ^vbut shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar ^wlest they, and you, die. 4 They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, ^xand no outsider shall come near you. 5 And you shall ^ykeep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, ^zthat there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. 6 ^aAnd behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. ^bThey are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 7 And ^cyou and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and ^dthat is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift,¹ and ^eany outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”