4. Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they brought strange fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children, and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the sight of Aaron their father.
5. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
6. Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, and they will minister to him.
7. They will keep his directives, and serve the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.
8. They will keep all the instruments of the tent of meeting, and attend to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9. You will give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him from the children of Israel.
10. You will appoint Aaron and his sons, and they will attend to their priesthood, and the foreigner that approaches will be put to death.
11. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
12. I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that open the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites will be Mine
13. because all the firstborn are Mine, for on the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I set apart to Me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They will be Mine. I am the Lord.
14. The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying: