Numbers 18:12-32

¹²All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they present before the Lord, unto thee I have given them.

¹³The firstfruits of all that is on their land which they present before the Lord shall be thine; everyone in thy house who is clean may eat thereof.

¹⁴Everything devoted in Israel shall be thine.

¹⁵Whatever openeth the womb of all flesh which they offer before the Lord, of man, or of beast, shall be for thee; but thou shalt surely redeem the firstborn of man, and the firstling of an unclean animal thou shalt redeem;

¹⁶And his redemption shall be at the age of one month; thou shalt redeem with the price of five shekes, in the shekel of the sanctuary it is ten meahs:

¹⁷But the firstling of an ox, or of a sheep, or of a goat, thou mayest not redeem, they are consecrated; thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and burn their fat, an oblation to be accepted before the Lord.

¹⁸But their flesh shall be for thee, as the breast of the elevation, and the right shoulder, they shall be thine.

¹⁹All the consecrated separations which the sons of Israel set apart before the Lord, I have given to thee and to thy children with thee by an everlasting covenant; an everlasting covenant of salt it is before the Lord, with thee, and thy children with thee.

²⁰And the Lord said to Aharon: In their land thou wilt not have possession, nor will thine be a portion among them; the gifts that I have given thee, they are thy portion and thy inheritance among the children of Israel.

²¹And to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tenths in Israel for a possession, on account of the service with which they serve in the ministry of the tabernacle of ordinance.

²²But the children of Israel must no more come nigh to the tabernacle of ordinance, to contract guilt and to die.

²³But the Levites shall perform the service of the tabernacle of ordinance, and shall bear their iniquity; a statute forever unto your generations. And among the sons of Israel they shall not possess an inheritance;

²⁴For the tenths of the children of Israel which they set apart before the Lord for a separation, I have given to the Levites for a possession; therefore have I said to them, Among the sons of Israel you shall not possess an inheritance.

²⁵And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying:

²⁶Speak also to the Levites, and say to them, When you take from the sons of Israel the tenths which I have given you of theirs, you shall set apart from them a separation before the Lord, a tenth of the tenth.

²⁷And your separation shall be reckoned to you as the corn from the threshing-floor, and as the wine of the wine-press;

²⁸So shall you set apart the separation before the Lord of all your tenths that you receive from the sons of Israel, and give thereof a separation before the Lord unto Aharon the priest.

²⁹Of all that is given to you ye shall set apart every separation for the Lord, of all the best of it, to be the hallowed portion thereof.

³⁰And say thou to them, When you have set apart the finest of it, it shall be reckoned to the Levites as the produce of the threshing-floor, and as the fruitage for the wine-press;

³¹And you may eat it in every place, you and the men of your house; for it is a remuneration to you on account of your service in the tabernacle of ordinance.

³²And you shall not contract guilt by it in your setting apart the finest of it, nor profane the consecrated things of the children of Israel.