אֵת

So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house must bear the iniquity involving the sanctuary. And you and your sons alone must bear the iniquity involving your priesthood.

But bring with you also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and assist you and your sons before the Tent of the Testimony.

They are to join you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting, doing all the work at the Tent; but no outsider may come near you.

And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.

Behold, I Myself have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to perform the service for the Tent of Meeting.

But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

Then the LORD said to Aaron, “Behold, I have put you in charge of My offerings. As for all the sacred offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute.

You are to eat it as a most holy offering, and every male may eat it. You shall regard it as holy.

And this is yours as well: the offering of their gifts, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given this to you and your sons and daughters as a permanent statute. Every ceremonially clean person in your household may eat it.

The firstborn of every womb, whether man or beast, that is offered to the LORD belongs to you. But you must surely redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.

But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to splatter their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.

For I have given to the Levites as their inheritance the tithe that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.”

“Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the LORD—a tithe of the tithe.

So you are to present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites, and from these you are to give the LORD’s offering to Aaron the priest.

You must present the offering due the LORD from all the best of every gift, the holiest part of it.’

Therefore say to the Levites, ‘When you have presented the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the produce of the threshing floor or winepress.

And you and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere; it is the compensation for your work at the Tent of Meeting.

Once you have presented the best part of it, you will not incur guilt because of it. But you must not defile the sacred offerings of the Israelites, or else you will die.’”

Give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.

Then the heifer must be burned in his sight. Its hide, its flesh, and its blood are to be burned, along with its dung.

The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin.

The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them.

Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.

But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he will be cut off from the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.

Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here?

Why have you led us up out of Egypt to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates—and there is no water to drink!”

“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”

So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he had been commanded.

Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, and Moses said to them, “Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”

Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.