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.
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 serve thee; but thou and thy sons with thee shall serve before the tabernacle of the testimony.
3. And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle; only they shall not come near the holy vessels or the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.
4. And they shall join themselves unto thee and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony in all the service of the tabernacle; and no stranger shall come near unto you.
5. And ye shall have the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar, that there be no more wrath upon the sons of Israel.
6. For behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the sons of Israel, given unto you as a gift of the Lord, to serve in the ministry of the tabernacle of the testimony.
7. Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood for every thing of the altar and within the veil, and ye shall minister; for I have given the service of your priesthood as a gift, and the stranger that comes near shall die.
8. The Lord spoke further unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of my offerings; all the dedicated things of the sons of Israel I have given unto thee by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by a perpetual statute.
9. This shall be thine of the holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every present of theirs, and every offering that represents their sin, and every offering that represents their guilt, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.