Duties of Priests and Levites
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So the Lord said to Aaron, "You and your sons and your father's house with you shall q bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, r and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood.
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And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may s join you and t minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.
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They shall keep guard over you and u over the whole tent, v but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar w lest they, and you, die.
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They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, x and no outsider shall come near you.
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And you shall y keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, z that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel.
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a And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. b They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting.
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And c you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and d that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and e any outsider who comes near shall be put to death."
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Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, "Behold, f I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you g as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due.
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This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every h sin offering of theirs and every i guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons.
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In a most holy place shall you eat it. Every male may eat it; it is holy to you.
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This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the j wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to k you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. l Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
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m All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, n the firstfruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you.
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The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, o which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. l Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
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p Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.
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q Everything that opens the womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours. Nevertheless, r the firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.
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And their redemption price s (at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, t which is twenty gerahs.
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u But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
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But their flesh shall be yours, as v the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are yours.
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w All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. x It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you."
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And the Lord said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. y I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
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z "To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting,
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a so that the people of Israel do not come near the tent of meeting, b lest they bear sin and die.
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But c the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, d and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
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For the tithe of the people of Israel, which e they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance f among the people of Israel."
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And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
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"Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, 'When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, g a tithe of the tithe.
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h And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress.
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So you shall also present a contribution to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it you shall give the Lord's contribution to Aaron the priest.
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Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the Lord; from each its best part is to be dedicated.'
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Therefore you shall say to them, 'When you have offered from it the best of it, i then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress.
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And you may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is j your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting.
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And you shall k bear no sin by reason of it, when you have contributed the best of it. But you shall not l profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.'"
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Cross References
Numbers 18:23
But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
Exodus 28:38
It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
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Cross References
Numbers 18:23
But the Levites shall do the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
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Cross References
Genesis 29:34
Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.
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Cross References
Numbers 3:6 - 10
Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.
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Cross References
Numbers 3:25
And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting.
Numbers 3:31
And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these.
Numbers 3:36
And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these.
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Cross References
Numbers 16:40
To be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his company - as the Lord said to him through Moses.
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Cross References
Numbers 4:15
And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.
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Cross References
Numbers 17:13
Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?
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Cross References
Numbers 3:38
Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death.
Exodus 27:21
In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.
Exodus 30:7
And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it.
Leviticus 24:3
Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the Lord regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
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Cross References
Leviticus 10:6
And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, "Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled.
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Cross References
Numbers 3:12
Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine.
Numbers 3:45
Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord.
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Cross References
Numbers 3:9
And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel.
Numbers 8:19
And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.
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Cross References
Numbers 3:10
And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.
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Cross References
Hebrews 9:3
Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place.
Hebrews 9:6
These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties.
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Cross References
Numbers 1:51
When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.
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Cross References
Numbers 5:9
And every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his.
Leviticus 7:32
And the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifice of your peace offerings.
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Cross References
Exodus 29:29
The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them.
Exodus 40:13
And put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest.
Exodus 40:15
And anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.
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Cross References
Leviticus 4:22
When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt.
Leviticus 4:27
If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord 's commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt.
Leviticus 6:25 - 26
Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the Lord ; it is most holy.
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Cross References
Leviticus 7:7
The guilt offering is just like the sin offering; there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with it shall have it.
Leviticus 14:13
And he shall kill the lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary. For the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy.
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Cross References
Exodus 29:27 - 28
And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the priests' portion that is contributed from the ram of ordination, from what was Aaron's and his sons'.
Leviticus 7:30
His own hands shall bring the Lord 's food offerings. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the Lord.
Leviticus 7:34
For the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed I have taken from the people of Israel, out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel.
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Cross References
Leviticus 10:14
But the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons' due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel.
Deuteronomy 18:3
And this shall be the priests' due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach.
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Cross References
Leviticus 22:2 - 3
Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 22:11 - 13
But if a priest buys a slave as his property for money, the slave may eat of it, and anyone born in his house may eat of his food.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 18:4
The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
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Cross References
Exodus 23:19
The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Exodus 34:26
The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Nehemiah 10:35 - 36
We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord.
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Cross References
Exodus 22:29
You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me.
Leviticus 2:14
If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain.
Deuteronomy 26:2
You shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there.
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Cross References
Numbers 18:11
This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
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Cross References
Leviticus 27:28
But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord.
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Cross References
Exodus 13:2
"Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine."
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Cross References
Exodus 13:13
Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.
Exodus 34:20
The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed.
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Cross References
Numbers 3:47
You shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs).
Leviticus 27:2
Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the Lord involving the valuation of persons.
Leviticus 27:6
If the person is from a month old up to five years old, the valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female the valuation shall be three shekels of silver.
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Cross References
Exodus 30:13
Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 15:19
All the firstborn males that are born of your herd and flock you shall dedicate to the Lord your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.
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Cross References
Exodus 29:26
You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's ordination and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion.
Exodus 29:28
It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a perpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a contribution. It shall be a contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.
Leviticus 7:31 - 32
The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons.
Leviticus 7:34
For the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed I have taken from the people of Israel, out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel.
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Cross References
Numbers 18:11
This also is yours: the contribution of their gift, all the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.
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Cross References
Leviticus 2:13
You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.
2 Chronicles 13:5
Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?
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Cross References
Numbers 18:23 - 24
But the Levites shall do the service of the ten...
Deuteronomy 10:9
Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance wi...
Deuteronomy 12:12
And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God,...
Deuteronomy 14:27
And you shall not neglect the Levite who is wit...
Deuteronomy 18:1 - 2
The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, s...
Joshua 13:33
But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inherita...
Joshua 14:3
For Moses had given an inheritance to the two a...
Joshua 18:7
The Levites have no portion among you, for the ...
Ezekiel 44:28
This shall be their inheritance: I am their inh...
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Cross References
Numbers 18:24
For the tithe of the people of Israel, which th...
Numbers 18:26
Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levite...
Leviticus 27:30
Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of...
Leviticus 27:32
And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tent...
Deuteronomy 14:22
You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that...
Nehemiah 10:37
And to bring the first of our dough, and our co...
Nehemiah 12:44
On that day men were appointed over the storero...
Hebrews 7:5
And those descendants of Levi who receive the p...
Hebrews 7:8 - 9
In the one case tithes are received by mortal m...
Genesis 14:20
And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered...
Genesis 28:22
And this stone, which I have set up for a pilla...
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Cross References
Numbers 1:51
When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.
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Cross References
Leviticus 22:9
They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
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Cross References
Numbers 3:7
They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle.
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Cross References
Numbers 18:1
So the Lord said to Aaron, "You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood.
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Cross References
Numbers 18:19
All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.
Numbers 18:26
Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, 'When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.
Numbers 18:29
Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the Lord ; from each its best part is to be dedicated.
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Cross References
Numbers 18:20 - 21
And the Lord said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
Numbers 18:26
Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, 'When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.
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Cross References
Nehemiah 10:38
And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse.
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Cross References
Numbers 18:30
Therefore you shall say to them, 'When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be counted to the Levites as produce of the threshing floor, and as produce of the winepress.
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Cross References
Numbers 18:27
And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress.
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Cross References
Matthew 10:10
No bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.
Luke 10:7
And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.
1 Timothy 5:17 - 18
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
1 Corinthians 9:4 - 14
Do we not have the right to eat and drink?
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Cross References
Leviticus 19:8
And everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Leviticus 22:16
And so cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
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Cross References
Leviticus 22:2
Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 22:15
They shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to the Lord.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.