Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close CEV

Numbers 18-20
Contemporary English Version

The Duties of the Priests and Levites

18 The Lord said to Aaron:

You, your sons, and the other Levites of the Kohath clan, are responsible for what happens at the sacred tent.[a] And you and your sons will be responsible for what the priests do. 2 The Levites are your relatives and are here to help you in your service at the tent. 3 You must see that they perform their duties. But if they go near any of the sacred objects or the altar, all of you will die. 4 No one else is allowed to take care of the sacred tent or do anything connected with it. 5 Follow these instructions, so I won't become angry and punish the Israelites ever again.

6 I alone chose the Levites from all the other tribes to belong to me, and I have given them to you as your helpers. 7 But only you and your sons can serve as priests at the altar and in the most holy place. Your work as priests is a gift from me, and anyone else who tries to do that work must be put to death.

The Priests' Share of Offerings Given to the Lord

(Deuteronomy 18.1-8)

8-9 The Lord said to Aaron:

I have put you in charge of the sacred gifts and sacrifices that the Israelites bring to me. And from now on, you, your sons, and your descendants will receive part of the sacrifices for sin, as well as part of the grain sacrifices, and the sacrifices to make things right. Your share of these sacrifices will be the parts not burned on the altar. 10 Since these things are sacred, they must be eaten near the sacred tent, but only men are allowed to eat them.

11 You will also receive part of the special gifts and offerings that the Israelites bring to me. Any member of your family who is clean and acceptable for worship can eat these things. 12 For example, when the Israelites bring me the first batches of oil, wine, and grain, you can have the best parts of those gifts. 13 And the first part of the crops from their fields and vineyards also belongs to you. The people will offer this to me, then anyone in your family who is clean may have some of it.

14 (A) Everything in Israel that has been completely dedicated to me[b] will now belong to you.

15 The first-born son in every Israelite family, as well as the first-born males of their flocks and herds, belong to me. But every first-born son and first-born donkey[c] must be bought back from me. 16 The price for a first-born son who is at least one month old will be five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. 17 However, all first-born cattle, sheep, and goats belong to me and cannot be bought back. Splatter their blood on the altar and send their fat up in smoke, so I can smell it and be pleased. 18 You are allowed to eat the meat of those animals, just as you can eat the choice ribs and the right hind leg of the special sacrifices.

19 From now on, the sacred offerings that the Israelites give to me will belong to you, your sons, and your daughters. This is my promise to you and your descendants, and it will never change.

20 You will not receive any land in Israel as your own. I am the Lord, and I will give you whatever you need.

What the Levites Receive

The Lord said to Aaron:

21 (B) Ten percent of the Israelites' crops and one out of every ten of their newborn animals belong to me. But I am giving all this to the Levites as their pay for the work they do at the sacred tent. 22-23 They are the only ones allowed to work at the tent, and they must not let anyone else come near it. Those who do come near must be put to death, and the Levites will also be punished. This law will never change.

Since the Levites won't be given any land in Israel as their own, 24 they will be given the crops and newborn animals that the Israelites offer to me.

What the Levites Must Give

25 The Lord told Moses 26 to say to the Levites:

When you receive from the people of Israel ten percent of their crops and newborn animals, you must offer a tenth of that to me. 27 Just as the Israelites give me part of their grain and wine, you must set aside part of what you receive 28 as an offering to me. That amount must then be given to Aaron, 29 so the best of what you receive will be mine.

30 After you have dedicated the best parts to me, you can eat the rest, just as the Israelites eat part of their grain and wine after offering them to me.[d] 31 Your share may be eaten anywhere by anyone in your family, because it is your pay for working at the sacred tent. 32 You won't be punished for eating it, as long as you have already offered the best parts to me.

The gifts and sacrifices brought by the people must remain sacred, and if you eat any part of them before they are offered to me, you will be put to death.

The Ceremony To Wash Away Sin

19 1-2 The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the following law:

The people of Israel must bring Moses a reddish-brown cow that has nothing wrong with it and that has never been used for plowing. 3 Moses will give it to Eleazar the priest, then it will be led outside the camp and killed while Eleazar watches. 4 He will dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times in the direction of the sacred tent. 5 Then the whole cow, including its skin, meat, blood, and insides must be burned. 6 A priest[e] is to throw a stick of cedar wood, a hyssop[f] branch, and a piece of red yarn into the fire.

7 After the ceremony, the priest is to take a bath and wash his clothes. Only then can he go back into the camp, but he remains unclean and unfit for worship until evening. 8 The man who burned the cow must also wash his clothes and take a bath, but he is also unclean until evening.

9 (C) A man who isn't unclean must collect the ashes of the burnt cow and store them outside the camp in a clean place. The people of Israel can mix these ashes with the water used in the ceremony to wash away sin. 10 The man who collects the ashes must wash his clothes, but will remain unclean until evening. This law must always be obeyed by the people of Israel and the foreigners living among them.

What Must Be Done after Touching a Dead Body

The Lord said:

11 If you touch a dead body, you will be unclean for seven days. 12 But if you wash with the water mixed with the cow's ashes on the third day and again on the seventh day, you will be clean and acceptable for worship. You must wash yourself on those days; if you don't, you will remain unclean. 13 Suppose you touch a dead body, but refuse to be made clean by washing with the water mixed with ashes. You will be guilty of making my sacred tent unclean and will no longer belong to the people of Israel.

14 If someone dies in a tent while you are there, you will be unclean for seven days. And anyone who later enters the tent will also be unclean. 15 Any open jar in the tent is unclean.

16 If you touch the body of someone who died or was killed, or if you touch a human bone or a grave, you will be unclean for seven days.

17-18 Before you can be made clean, someone who is clean must take some of the ashes from the burnt cow and stir them into a pot of spring water. That same person must dip a hyssop branch in the water and ashes, then sprinkle it on the tent and everything in it, including everyone who was inside. If you have touched a human bone, a grave, or a dead body, you must be sprinkled with that water. 19 If this is done on the third day and on the seventh day, you will be clean. Then after you take a bath and wash your clothes, you can worship that evening.

20 If you are unclean and refuse to be made clean by washing with the water mixed with ashes, you will be guilty of making my sacred tent unclean, and you will no longer belong to the people of Israel. 21 These laws will never change.

The man who sprinkled the water and the ashes on you when you were unclean must also wash his clothes. And whoever touches this water is unclean until evening. 22 When you are unclean, everything you touch becomes unclean, and anyone who touches you will be unclean until evening.

Water from a Rock

20 The people of Israel arrived at the Zin Desert during the first month[g] and set up camp near the town of Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried.

2 (D) The Israelites had no water, so they went to Moses and Aaron 3 and complained, “Moses, we'd be better off if we had died along with the others in front of the Lord's sacred tent.[h] 4 You brought us into this desert, and now we and our livestock are going to die! 5 Egypt was better than this horrible place. At least there we had grain and figs and grapevines and pomegranates.[i] But now we don't even have any water.”

6 Moses and Aaron went to the entrance to the sacred tent, where they bowed down. The Lord appeared to them in all of his glory 7-8 and said, “Moses, get your walking stick.[j] Then you and Aaron call the people together and command that rock to give you water. That's how you will provide water for the people of Israel and their livestock.”

9 Moses obeyed and took his stick from the sacred tent. 10 After he and Aaron had gathered the people around the rock, he said, “Look, you rebellious people, and you will see water flow from this rock!” 11 (E) He raised his stick in the air and struck the rock two times. At once, water gushed from the rock, and the people and their livestock had water to drink.

12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you refused to believe in my power, these people did not respect me. And so, you will not be the ones to lead them into the land I have promised.”

13 The Israelites had complained against the Lord, and he had shown them his holy power by giving them water to drink. So they named the place Meribah, which means “Complaining.”

Israel Isn't Allowed To Go through Edom

14 Moses sent messengers from Israel's camp near Kadesh with this message for the king of Edom:

We are Israelites, your own relatives, and we're sure you have heard the terrible things that have happened to us. 15 Our ancestors settled in Egypt and lived there a long time. But later the Egyptians were cruel to us, 16 and when we begged our Lord for help, he answered our prayer and brought us out of that land.

Now we are camped at the border of your territory, near the town of Kadesh. 17 Please let us go through your country. We won't go near your fields or vineyards, and we won't drink any water from your wells. We will stay on the main road[k] until we leave your territory.

18 But the king of Edom answered, “No, I won't let you go through our country! And if you try, we will attack you.”

19 Moses sent back this message: “We promise to stay on the main road, and if any of us or our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. We just want to pass through.”

20 But the king insisted, “You can't go through our land!”

Then Edom sent out its strongest troops 21 to keep Israel from passing through its territory. So the Israelites had to go in another direction.

Aaron Dies

22 After the Israelites had left Kadesh and had gone as far as Mount Hor 23 on the Edomite border, the Lord said, 24 “Aaron, this is where you will die. You and Moses disobeyed me at Meribah, and so you will not enter the land I promised the Israelites. 25 Moses, go with Aaron and his son Eleazar to the top of the mountain. 26 Then take Aaron's priestly robe from him and place it on Eleazar. Aaron will die there.”

27 Moses obeyed, and everyone watched as he and Aaron and Eleazar walked to the top of Mount Hor. 28 (F) Moses then took the priestly robe from Aaron and placed it on Eleazar. Aaron died there.

When Moses and Eleazar came down, 29 the people knew that Aaron had died, and they mourned his death for 30 days.

Footnotes

  1. 18.1 are responsible … sacred tent: Or “are to make sure that no one gets near the sacred tent.”
  2. 18.14 that has been completely dedicated to me: This translates a Hebrew word that describes property and things that were taken away from humans and given to God forever. Sometimes such things had to be completely destroyed (see Joshua 6.15-19).
  3. 18.15 donkey: The Hebrew text has “unclean animal,” which probably refers to a donkey (see Exodus 13.13; 34.20).
  4. 18.30 just as the Israelites … to me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  5. 19.6 A priest: Or “Eleazar.”
  6. 19.6 hyssop: A plant with small clusters of blue flowers and sweet-smelling leaves.
  7. 20.1 first month: See the note at 9.3.
  8. 20.3 if we had died … sacred tent: See 16.41-49.
  9. 20.5 pomegranates: See the note at 13.23,24.
  10. 20.7,8 walking stick: A symbol of his authority.
  11. 20.17 the main road: The Hebrew text has “the King's Highway,” which was an important trade route through what is today the country of Jordan. It connected the city of Damascus in Syria with the Gulf of Aqaba in southern Jordan.
Listen to Numbers 18-20
Close NIV

Numbers 18-20
New International Version

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary,(A) and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood. 2 Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister(B) before the tent of the covenant law. 3 They are to be responsible to you(C) and are to perform all the duties of the tent,(D) but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar. Otherwise both they and you will die.(E) 4 They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting—all the work at the tent—and no one else may come near where you are.(F)

5 “You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar,(G) so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelites again. 6 I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you,(H) dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the tent of meeting.(I) 7 But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain.(J) I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift.(K) Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.(L)”

Offerings for Priests and Levites

8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion,(M) your perpetual share.(N) 9 You are to have the part of the most holy offerings(O) that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain(P) or sin[a](Q) or guilt offerings,(R) that part belongs to you and your sons. 10 Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it.(S) You must regard it as holy.(T)

11 “This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings(U) of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share.(V) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean(W) may eat it.

12 “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain(X) they give the Lord(Y) as the firstfruits of their harvest.(Z) 13 All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours.(AA) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.(AB)

14 “Everything in Israel that is devoted[b] to the Lord(AC) is yours. 15 The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours.(AD) But you must redeem(AE) every firstborn(AF) son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.(AG) 16 When they are a month old,(AH) you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels[c](AI) of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel,(AJ) which weighs twenty gerahs.(AK)

17 “But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat; they are holy.(AL) Splash their blood(AM) against the altar and burn their fat(AN) as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(AO) 18 Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering(AP) and the right thigh are yours.(AQ) 19 Whatever is set aside from the holy(AR) offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt(AS) before the Lord for both you and your offspring.”

20 The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them;(AT) I am your share and your inheritance(AU) among the Israelites.

21 “I give to the Levites all the tithes(AV) in Israel as their inheritance(AW) in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.(AX) 22 From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die.(AY) 23 It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance(AZ) for the generations to come.(BA) They will receive no inheritance(BB) among the Israelites.(BC) 24 Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord.(BD) That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”

25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you(BE) as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering.(BF) 27 Your offering will be reckoned(BG) to you as grain from the threshing floor(BH) or juice from the winepress.(BI) 28 In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes(BJ) you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. 29 You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’

30 “Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress.(BK) 31 You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting.(BL) 32 By presenting the best part(BM) of it you will not be guilty in this matter;(BN) then you will not defile the holy offerings(BO) of the Israelites, and you will not die.’”

The Water of Cleansing

19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer(BP) without defect or blemish(BQ) and that has never been under a yoke.(BR) 3 Give it to Eleazar(BS) the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp(BT) and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle(BU) it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. 5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines.(BV) 6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop(BW) and scarlet wool(BX) and throw them onto the burning heifer. 7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water.(BY) He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. 8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.

9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer(BZ) and put them in a ceremonially clean place(CA) outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing;(CB) it is for purification from sin.(CC) 10 The man who gathers up(CD) the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening.(CE) This will be a lasting ordinance(CF) both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.(CG)

11 “Whoever touches a human corpse(CH) will be unclean for seven days.(CI) 12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day;(CJ) then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.(CK) 13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse,(CL) they defile the Lord’s tabernacle.(CM) They must be cut off from Israel.(CN) Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean;(CO) their uncleanness remains on them.

14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, 15 and every open container(CP) without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death,(CQ) or anyone who touches a human bone(CR) or a grave,(CS) will be unclean for seven days.(CT)

17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes(CU) from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water(CV) over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop,(CW) dip it in the water and sprinkle(CX) the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave(CY) or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. 19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle(CZ) those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them.(DA) Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes(DB) and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. 20 But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled(DC) the sanctuary of the Lord.(DD) The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.(DE) 21 This is a lasting ordinance(DF) for them.

“The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. 22 Anything that an unclean(DG) person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”

Water From the Rock

20 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin,(DH) and they stayed at Kadesh.(DI) There Miriam(DJ) died and was buried.

2 Now there was no water(DK) for the community,(DL) and the people gathered in opposition(DM) to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled(DN) with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead(DO) before the Lord!(DP) 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness,(DQ) that we and our livestock should die here?(DR) 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.(DS) And there is no water to drink!(DT)”

6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting(DU) and fell facedown,(DV) and the glory of the Lord(DW) appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff,(DX) and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.(DY) You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

9 So Moses took the staff(DZ) from the Lord’s presence,(EA) just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together(EB) in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”(EC) 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water(ED) gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy(EE) in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”(EF)

13 These were the waters of Meribah,[d](EG) where the Israelites quarreled(EH) with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.(EI)

Edom Denies Israel Passage

14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh(EJ) to the king of Edom,(EK) saying:

“This is what your brother Israel says: You know(EL) about all the hardships(EM) that have come on us. 15 Our ancestors went down into Egypt,(EN) and we lived there many years.(EO) The Egyptians mistreated(EP) us and our ancestors, 16 but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry(EQ) and sent an angel(ER) and brought us out of Egypt.(ES)

“Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.(ET) 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.(EU)”

18 But Edom(EV) answered:

“You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.(EW)”

19 The Israelites replied:

“We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock(EX) drink any of your water, we will pay for it.(EY) We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”

20 Again they answered:

“You may not pass through.(EZ)”

Then Edom(FA) came out against them with a large and powerful army. 21 Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory,(FB) Israel turned away from them.(FC)

The Death of Aaron

22 The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh(FD) and came to Mount Hor.(FE) 23 At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom,(FF) the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people.(FG) He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command(FH) at the waters of Meribah.(FI) 25 Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.(FJ) 26 Remove Aaron’s garments(FK) and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people;(FL) he will die there.”

27 Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor(FM) in the sight of the whole community. 28 Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar.(FN) And Aaron died there(FO) on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, 29 and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died,(FP) all the Israelites mourned for him(FQ) thirty days.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 18:9 Or purification
  2. Numbers 18:14 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
  3. Numbers 18:16 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
  4. Numbers 20:13 Meribah means quarreling.
Next
Numbers 17
Numbers 21
Next
dropdown
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

CEV Resources
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV