NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Aaron's Rod & Levites' Inheritance — February 11
Numbers 17-18
Numbers 17
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 365N 42.1
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod. 365N 42.2
3 And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house. 365N 42.3
4 Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before the Testimony, where I meet with you. 365N 42.4
5 And it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you.” 365N 42.5
6 So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. 365N 42.6
7 And Moses placed the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. 365N 42.7
8 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds. 365N 42.8
9 Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. 365N 42.9
10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.” 365N 42.10
11 Thus did Moses; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did. 365N 42.11
12 So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely we die, we perish, we all perish! 365N 42.12
13 Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord must die. Shall we all utterly die?” 365N 42.13
Numbers 18
1 Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the [a] iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood. 365N 42.14
2 Also bring with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of [b] witness. 365N 42.15
3 They shall attend to your [c] needs and all the needs of the tabernacle; but they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, lest they die—they and you also. 365N 42.16
4 They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; but an outsider shall not come near you. 365N 42.17
5 And you shall attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, that there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel. 365N 42.18
6 Behold, I Myself have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; they are a gift to you, given by the Lord , to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 365N 42.19
7 Therefore you and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and behind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a gift for service, but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” 365N 42.20
8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron: “Here, I Myself have also given you [d] charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever. 365N 42.21
9 This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering and every sin offering and every trespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons. 365N 42.22
10 In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you. 365N 42.23
11 “This also is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. Everyone who is [e] clean in your house may eat it. 365N 42.24
12 “All the [f] best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord , I have given them to you. 365N 42.25
13 Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, which they bring to the Lord , shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. 365N 42.26
14 “Every [g] devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 365N 42.27
15 “Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the Lord , whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 365N 42.28
16 And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 365N 42.29
17 But the firstborn of a cow, 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 burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord . 365N 42.30
18 And their flesh shall be yours, just as the wave [h] breast and the right thigh are yours. 365N 42.31
19 “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord , I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.” 365N 42.32
20 Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel. 365N 42.33
21 “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as [i] an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 365N 42.34
22 Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 365N 42.35
23 But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 365N 42.36
24 For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord , I have given to the Levites [j] as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ” 365N 42.37
25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 365N 42.38
26 “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord , a tenth of the tithe. 365N 42.39
27 And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. 365N 42.40
28 Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord ’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. 365N 42.41
29 Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the Lord , from all the [k] best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ 365N 42.42
30 Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. 365N 42.43
31 You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your [l] reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting. 365N 42.44
32 And you shall bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ” 365N 42.45