1Yahweh said to Aaron, "You, your sons, and your father's family will be responsible for any wrongdoing connected with the Holy Place; and you and your sons will be responsible for any wrongdoing connected with your role as priests.
2Bring your relatives, the tribe of Levi—your father's tribe—near you, so they can join you and help you. But you and your sons must stay in front of the Tent of the Testimony.
3They will follow your instructions and perform all the duties of the entire Tent. However, they must not go near the holy objects or the altar, so that neither they nor you will die.
4They will join you and be responsible for the Tent of Meeting, for all the work of the Tent. No unauthorized person may come near you.
5You must perform the duties of the Holy Place and the duties of the altar so that no more anger comes upon the people of Israel.
6Look, I myself have taken your relatives, the Levites, from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, dedicated to Yahweh, to do the services of the Tent of Meeting.
7You and your sons must guard your priesthood for everything related to the altar and for what is behind the curtain. You must serve. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone unauthorized who comes near will be put to death.
8Yahweh spoke to Aaron, "Look, I myself have given you charge of my special offerings—all the holy things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you and your sons as a permanent portion because of your anointing.
9This is what will be yours from the most holy offerings that are burned: every offering they bring, including every grain offering, every sin offering, and every guilt offering that they present to me, will be most holy for you and your sons.
10You will eat it as a most holy food. Every male may eat it. It will be holy to you.
11This is also yours: the special offerings that are waved, all the waved offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, your sons, and your daughters as a permanent portion. Everyone in your household who is clean may eat from it.
12I have given you all the best oil, and all the best new wine and grain—the first fruits of these that they give to Yahweh.
13The first ripe fruits of everything in their land that they bring to Yahweh will be yours. Everyone in your household who is clean may eat from it.
14Everything in Israel that is set apart for me will be yours.
15Every firstborn, whether human or animal, that is offered to Yahweh will be yours. However, you must buy back every firstborn human, and you must buy back the firstborn of unclean animals.
16You must buy back those who are to be bought back when they are one month old, for a price of five silver coins, according to the weight of the Holy Place, which is twenty gerahs.
17But you must not buy back the firstborn of a cow, a sheep, or a goat. They are holy. You must sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, a pleasing smell to Yahweh.
18Their portion of the meat will be yours, like the breast that is waved and the right thigh; it will belong to you.
19I have given you all the waved offerings of the holy things, which the people of Israel offer to Yahweh. These are for you, your sons, and your daughters forever. This is a perpetual covenant of salt before Yahweh for you and your descendants.
20Yahweh also told Aaron, “You will not receive any land inheritance, nor will you have any share among the people of Israel. I am your share and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
21“Look, I have given all the tithes in Israel to the Levites as their inheritance, in return for the service they perform in the Tent of Meeting.
22From now on, the people of Israel must not come near the Tent of Meeting, or they will be guilty of sin and die.
23But the Levites will perform the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they will be responsible for any wrongdoing. This will be a permanent rule for all your generations. They will not have any inheritance among the people of Israel.
24I have given the tithes of the people of Israel, which they offer to Yahweh as a waved offering, to the Levites as an inheritance. That is why I told them, ‘They will have no inheritance among the people of Israel.’”
25Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
26“Also, speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive the tithe from the people of Israel, which I have given you as your inheritance, you must set aside a tenth of that tithe as a special offering for Yahweh.
27Your special offering will be credited to you as if it were grain from the threshing floor or new wine from the winepress.
28In the same way, you must also offer a special offering to Yahweh from all your tithes that you receive from the people of Israel. From that offering, you must give Yahweh's special offering to Aaron the priest.
29From all your gifts, you must offer every special offering to Yahweh from the best part, the holy portion of it.’
30“Therefore, you must tell them: ‘When you set aside the best part from it, then it will be credited to the Levites as if it were the produce from the threshing floor and the produce from the winepress.
31You and your households may eat it anywhere, because it is your reward for your service in the Tent of Meeting.
32You will not incur any sin because of it, as long as you have set aside its best part. You must not treat the holy things of the people of Israel as unholy, or you will die.’”