Numbers

Tells about the Israelites' 40 years in the desert, including their travels and the census of their tribes.

Chapter 18

1 And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

*And God told Aaron, You, your sons, and your family will be responsible for the wrongdoings in the holy place. You and your sons will also be responsible for any mistakes made as priests.

2 And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.

*Bring your family from the Levi tribe, your father's group, with you. They will join you and help you. But you and your sons will serve in front of the witness tent.

3 And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

*They will take care of your responsibilities and those of the entire dwelling place. But they must not approach the holy objects or the altar, so that they and you do not face death.

4 And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.

*They will join you and take care of the church's tent, doing all the work needed. Strangers are not allowed near you.

5 And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.

*You must take care of the holy place and the altar so that God's anger does not continue to be with the people of Israel.

6 And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

*I have chosen the Levites from the people of Israel for you. They are given to you as a present for the Lord. Use them to help with the work at the meeting place.

7 Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for everything of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

*So, you and your children will take care of the duties at the altar and behind the curtain. You must serve in this way because I have chosen you for this job as a special gift. If anyone not from our group tries to come near, they will be punished with death.

8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.

*And the LORD told Aaron, I have also given you the responsibility for my special gifts from the people of Israel. I've given these to you and your children because you are anointed, as a rule forever.

9 This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.

*This is your most sacred portion, set apart from the fire: all offerings they bring, including meat offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings, will be holy for you and your children.

10 In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.

*In the very special area, you must eat it; all boys can eat it; it will be special and only for you.

11 And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

*This means this offering belongs to you. It's from the special gifts given by the people of Israel, along with their wave offerings. I have given them to you, your children, and your grandchildren forever. Anyone who is clean in your home can enjoy eating this food.

12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.

*Give me the finest oil, wine, and wheat - these are the first offerings they give to the Lord, and I am giving them to you.

13 And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.

*Whatever is first ripe in the land and brought to the LORD will belong to you. All those who are clean in your home can eat from it.

14 Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.

*Anything dedicated to you in Israel will belong to you.

15 Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

*Anything that opens the womb in all living beings, given to the LORD, whether it's from humans or animals, will belong to you. However, you must surely redeem the firstborn child of humans and the first offspring of unclean animals.

16 And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

*Those one month or older should be redeemed at a cost of five sanctuary shekels, equal to 20 gerahs each.

17 But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD.

*But the first baby animal from a cow, sheep, or goat cannot be bought back. They are special and belong to God. You must put their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a smoke-filled offering that smells good to the Lord.

18 And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine.

*And their meat will belong to you, just like the choice breast and the strong right shoulder do.

19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee.

*All the special gifts that the Israelites give to God belong to you, along with your children and grandchildren. This is a forever rule, like a never-ending agreement using salt as a symbol, between you, your family, and God.

20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

*And the LORD told Aaron, You won't own any land with them, and you won't have a share with them either. I am your share and inheritance among the people of Israel.

21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

*And look, I have given the Levite's children all the tenth in Israel as their inheritance, because they serve, specifically for taking care of the tent where the group meets.

22 Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.

*Children of Israel should not go near the meeting place; otherwise, they might commit a sin that leads to death.

23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

*But the Levites will take care of the tent for the group, and they will carry their wrongdoing. This rule will always be for you and your family: among the people of Israel, they won't have any land of their own.

24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

*But the money given by the children of Israel to the Lord, I gave to the Levites for them to own. So, I told the Levites that they won't get land in Israel like everyone else.

25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

*And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.

*Tell the Levites: When you collect the tithes from the people of Israel, which I have assigned to you as your inheritance, you must give a special offering to God from that amount - one-tenth of the tithe.

27 And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.

*This verse means that your special gift to God will be considered as valuable as grain from a threshing floor or juice from a grape press.

28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD’s heave offering to Aaron the priest.

*So, you should also give a special gift to God from all your offerings that you get from the people of Israel, and then give part of that special gift to Aaron, who is the priest.

29 Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.

*From all your gifts, give the best offering to the LORD; choose the finest part and set aside the holy portion for Him.

30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.

*So you should tell them, when you take the best parts from it, then it will be considered as a gain from the area where grain is separated, and as a gain from the place where grapes are crushed.

31 And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.

*You will eat it everywhere with your family because it is your reward for working at the church's meeting place.

32 And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.

*Don't sin using it after taking its best part; also don't make the sacred items impure for Israel's children or you will die.

read summary

Back to Chapters

Back to Books

* work in progress, there will be mistakes