Numbers 17; Numbers 18; Numbers 19

1 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said,

2 "Speak to the people of Israel. Get 12 wooden staffs from them. Get one from the leader of each of Israel's tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.

3 Write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. There must be one staff for the head of each of Israel's tribes.

4 "Put the staffs in the Tent of Meeting. Place them in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. That is where I meet with you.

5 The staff that belongs to the man I choose will begin to grow new shoots. The people of Israel are never happy with what you do. I will put an end to what they are saying."

6 So Moses spoke to the people of Israel. Their leaders gave him 12 wooden staffs. They gave one for the leader of each of Israel's tribes. Aaron's staff was among them.

7 Moses put the staffs in front of the LORD in the tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept.

8 The next day Moses entered the tent. He looked at Aaron's staff. It stood for the tribe of Levi. Moses saw that it had not only begun to grow new shoots. It had also produced buds and flowers and almonds.

9 Then Moses brought out all of the staffs from in front of the Lord. He brought them to all of the people of Israel. They looked at them. And each man took his own staff.

10 The LORD said to Moses, "Put Aaron's staff back in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. The staff will be kept there as a warning to those who refuse to obey. They are never happy with what I do. Aaron's staff will put an end to what they are saying. Then they will not die."

11 Moses did just as the LORD commanded him.

12 The people of Israel said to Moses, "We'll die! We are lost! All of us are lost!

13 Anyone who even comes near the LORD's holy tent will die. Are all of us going to die?"

1 The LORD spoke to Aaron. He said, "You, your sons and your father's family are in charge of the sacred tent. You will be held accountable for sins that are committed against it. And you and your sons will be held accountable for sins that are committed against 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 where the tablets of the covenant are kept.

3 They 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 of the work at the tent. No one else can come near you there.

5 "You will be held accountable for taking care of the sacred tent and the altar. Then my anger will not fall on the people of Israel again.

6 I myself have chosen the Levites. I have chosen them from among the people of Israel. 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 inside 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."

8 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron. He said, "I have put you in charge of the offerings that are brought to me. The people of Israel will give me holy offerings. I will give all of their offerings to you and your sons. They are the part that belongs to you. They are your regular share.

9 "You will have a part of the very holy offerings. It is the part that is not burned in the fire. That part belongs to you and your sons. You will have a part of all of 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 people of Israel bring as wave offerings will be set to one side. That part will also belong to you. I will give it to you and your sons and daughters. It is your regular share. Everyone in your home who is 'clean' can eat it.

12 "I will give you all of the finest olive oil and grain the people give me. And I will give you all of the finest fresh wine they give me. They give all of those things as the first share of their harvest.

13 All of 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 that is born first to its mother. It belongs to you. That is true for men and animals alike. But you must buy back every oldest son. Suppose certain animals are not 'clean.' Then you must buy back every male that is 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 in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent.

17 "But you must not buy back any male calf that is born first. And you must not buy back any male sheep or goat that is born first. They are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar. And burn their fat as an offering that is made with fire. It gives a smell that is pleasant to 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 people of Israel bring to me will be set to one side. No matter what it is, I will give it to you and your sons and daughters. It is your regular share. 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 people of Israel.

21 "The people of Israel 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 people of Israel 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 held accountable for sins that are committed against it. That is a law that will last for all time to come. The Levites will not receive any share among the people of Israel.

24 Instead, I will give the Levites the tenth as their share. It is the tenth that the people of Israel bring me as an offering. That is why I said the Levites would not have any share of land among the people of Israel."

25 The LORD said to Moses,

26 "Speak to the Levites. Say to them, 'You will receive the tenth from the people of Israel. 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 people of Israel. 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 that is 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 people of Israel "unclean." You will not die.' "

1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said,

2 "Here is what the law I have commanded requires. Tell the people of Israel to bring you a young red cow. It must not have any flaws at all. It must never have pulled a load.

3 "Give it to the priest Eleazar. It must be taken outside the camp and killed in front of him.

4 Then the priest Eleazar must put some of its blood on his finger. He must sprinkle the blood toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. He must do it seven times.

5 "While he watches, the young cow must be burned. Its hide, meat, blood and guts must be burned.

6 The priest must get some cedar wood, branches of a hyssop plant, and bright red wool. He must throw them on the young cow as it burns.

7 "After that, the priest must wash his clothes. He must also take a bath. Then he can come into the camp. But he will be 'unclean' until evening.

8 "The man who burns the young cow must wash his clothes. He must also take a bath. He too will be 'unclean' until evening.

9 "A man who is 'clean' will gather up the ashes of the young cow. He must put them in a place that is 'clean.' The place must be outside the camp. The ashes will be kept by the community of Israel. They will be added to the special water. The water will be used to make people pure from their sin.

10 "The man who gathers up the ashes of the young cow must wash his clothes. He too will be 'unclean' until evening. That law is for the people of Israel. It is also for the outsiders who are living among them. The law will last for all time to come.

11 "Anyone who touches a dead person's body will be 'unclean' for seven days.

12 He must make himself pure and clean with the special water. He must do it on the third day. He must also do it on the seventh day. Then he will be 'clean.' "But suppose he does not make himself pure and clean on the third and seventh days. Then he will not be 'clean.'

13 Anyone who touches a dead person's body and does not make himself pure and clean makes my holy tent 'unclean.' He must be cut off from Israel. The special water has not been sprinkled on him. So he is 'unclean.' And he remains 'unclean.'

14 "Here is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent. Anyone who enters the tent will be 'unclean' for seven days. Anyone who is in the tent will also be 'unclean' for seven days.

15 And anything in it that is open and has no lid will be 'unclean.'

16 "Suppose someone is out in the country. And suppose he touches someone who has been killed with a sword. Or he touches someone who has died a natural death. Or he touches a human bone or a grave. Then anyone who touches any of those things will be 'unclean' for seven days.

17 "Here is what I want you to do for someone who is not 'clean.' Put some ashes from the burned young cow into a jar. Pour fresh water on the ashes.

18 Then a man who is 'clean' must dip branches of a hyssop plant in the water. He must sprinkle the tent with it. Everything that belongs to the tent must be sprinkled with it. The people who were in the tent must also be sprinkled. Anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave must be sprinkled. So must anyone who has touched someone who has been killed. So must anyone who has touched someone who has died a natural death.

19 "The man who is 'clean' must sprinkle the person who is not. That must be done on the third and seventh days. On the seventh day the person who is not 'clean' must be made pure and clean. The one who is being made 'clean' must wash his clothes. He must take a bath. Then that evening he will be 'clean.'

20 "But what if a person who is 'unclean' does not make himself pure and clean? Then he must be cut off from the community. He has made my holy tent 'unclean.' The special water has not been sprinkled on him. He is not 'clean.'

21 That law will apply to all of those people for all time to come. "The man who sprinkles the special water must also wash his clothes. Anyone who touches the water will be 'unclean' until evening.

22 Anything that an 'unclean' person touches becomes 'unclean.' And anyone who touches it becomes 'unclean' until evening."