Clean and Unclean Animals

¹You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,

²for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

³You must not eat any detestable thing.

⁴These are the animals that you may eat:The ox, the sheep, the goat,

⁵the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer,the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope,and the mountain sheep.

⁶You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud.

⁷But of those that chew the cud or have a completely divided hoof, you are not to eat the following:the camel,the rabbit,or the rock badger.Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof. They are unclean for you,

⁸as well as the pig; though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat its meat or touch its carcass.

⁹Of all the creatures that live in the water, you may eat anything with fins and scales,

¹⁰but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales; it is unclean for you.

¹¹You may eat any clean bird,

¹²but these you may not eat:the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,

¹³the red kite, the falcon, any kind of kite,

¹⁴any kind of raven,

¹⁵the ostrich,the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,

¹⁶the little owl, the great owl, the white owl,

¹⁷the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant,

¹⁸the stork, any kind of heron,the hoopoe, or the bat.

¹⁹All flying insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten.

²⁰But you may eat any clean bird.

²¹You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God.You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Giving Tithes

²²You must be sure to set aside a tenth of all the produce brought forth each year from your fields.

²³And you are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks, in the presence of the LORD your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

²⁴But if the distance is too great for you to carry that with which the LORD your God has blessed you, because the place where the LORD your God will choose to put His Name is too far away,

²⁵then exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place the LORD your God will choose.

²⁶Then you may spend the money on anything you desire: cattle, sheep, wine, strong drink, or anything you wish. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household.

²⁷And do not neglect the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

²⁸At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and lay it up within your gates.

²⁹Then the Levite (because he has no portion or inheritance among you), the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands.

The Descendants of Levi

¹The sons of Levi:Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

²The sons of Kohath:Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

³The children of Amram:Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.The sons of Aaron:Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁴Eleazar was the father of Phinehas,Phinehas was the father of Abishua,

⁵Abishua was the father of Bukki,Bukki was the father of Uzzi,

⁶Uzzi was the father of Zerahiah,Zerahiah was the father of Meraioth,

⁷Meraioth was the father of Amariah,Amariah was the father of Ahitub,

⁸Ahitub was the father of Zadok,Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz,

⁹Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah,Azariah was the father of Johanan,

¹⁰Johanan was the father of Azariah, who served as priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem,

¹¹Azariah was the father of Amariah,Amariah was the father of Ahitub,

¹²Ahitub was the father of Zadok,Zadok was the father of Shallum,

¹³Shallum was the father of Hilkiah,Hilkiah was the father of Azariah,

¹⁴Azariah was the father of Seraiah,and Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak.

¹⁵Jehozadak went into captivity when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁶The sons of Levi:Gershom,Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁷These are the names of the sons of Gershom:Libni and Shimei.

¹⁸The sons of Kohath:Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

¹⁹The sons of Merari:Mahli and Mushi.These are the clans of the Levites listed according to their fathers:

²⁰Of Gershom:Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,

²¹Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and Jeatherai his son.

²²The descendants of Kohath:Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,

²³Elkanah his son, Ebiasaphhis son, Assir his son,

²⁴Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.

²⁵The descendants of Elkanah:Amasai, Ahimoth,

²⁶Elkanah his son,Zophai his son, Nahath his son,

²⁷Eliabhis son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son.

²⁸The sons of Samuel:Joel his firstborn and Abijah his second son.

²⁹The descendants of Merari:Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son,

³⁰Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

The Temple Musicians

³¹These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there.

³²They ministered with song before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. And they performed their duties according to the regulations given them.

³³These are the men who served, together with their sons.From the Kohathites:Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,

³⁴the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel,the son of Toah,

³⁵the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,

³⁶the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,

³⁷the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,

³⁸the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.

³⁹Heman’s kinsman was Asaph, who served at his right hand:Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea,

⁴⁰the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah,the son of Malchijah,

⁴¹the son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah,

⁴²the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei,

⁴³the son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi.

⁴⁴On the left were their kinsmen, the sons of Merari:Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,

⁴⁵the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah,

⁴⁶the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer,

⁴⁷the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.

The Descendants of Aaron

⁴⁸Their fellow Levites were assigned to every kind of service of the tabernacle, the house of God.

⁴⁹But Aaron and his sons did all the work of the Most Holy Place.They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

⁵⁰These were the descendants of Aaron:Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son,

⁵¹Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son,

⁵²Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,

⁵³Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.

Territories for the Levites

⁵⁴Now these were the territories assigned to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clan for their settlements, because the first lot fell to them:

⁵⁵They were given Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands.

⁵⁶But the fields and villages around the city were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh.

⁵⁷So the descendants of Aaron were given Hebron (a city of refuge), Libnah,Jattir, Eshtemoa,

⁵⁸Hilen,Debir,

⁵⁹Ashan,Juttah,and Beth-shemesh, together with their pasturelands.

⁶⁰And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon,Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. So they had thirteen cities in all among their families.

⁶¹To the rest of the Kohathites, ten cities were allotted from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁶²The Gershomites,according to their clans, were allotted thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh in Bashan.

⁶³The Merarites, according to their clans, were allotted twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

⁶⁴So the Israelites gave to the Levites these cities and their pasturelands.

⁶⁵They assigned by lot the cities named above from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

⁶⁶And some of the clans of the Kohathites were given cities from the tribe of Ephraim for their territory:

⁶⁷They were given Shechem (a city of refuge)with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer,

⁶⁸Jokmeam, Beth-horon,

⁶⁹Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁰And from the half-tribe of Manasseh the rest of the clans of the Kohathites were given Aner and Bileam, together with their pasturelands.

⁷¹The Gershomites received the following:From the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan and also Ashtaroth, together with their pasturelands.

⁷²From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kedesh, Daberath,

⁷³Ramoth, and Anem, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁴From the tribe of Asher they were given Mashal, Abdon,

⁷⁵Hukok, and Rehob, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁶And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁷The Merarites (the rest of the Levites) received the following:From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Rimmono and Tabor,together with their pasturelands.

⁷⁸From the tribe of Reuben east of the Jordan opposite Jericho they were given Bezer in the wilderness, Jahzah,

⁷⁹Kedemoth, and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands.

⁸⁰And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim,

⁸¹Heshbon, and Jazer, together with their pasturelands.

Laws for Peace Offerings

¹“If one’s offering is a peace offering and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he must present it without blemish before the LORD.

²He is to lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splatter the blood on all sides of the altar.

³From the peace offering he is to bring a food offering to the LORD: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them,

⁴both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys.

⁵Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar atop the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

⁶If, however, one’s peace offering to the LORD is from the flock, he must present a male or female without blemish.

⁷If he is presenting a lamb for his offering, he must present it before the LORD.

⁸He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splatter its blood on all sides of the altar.

⁹And from the peace offering he shall bring a food offering to the LORD consisting of its fat: the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them,

¹⁰both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys.

¹¹Then the priest is to burn them on the altar as food, a food offering to the LORD.

¹²If one’s offering is a goat, he is to present it before the LORD.

¹³He must lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splatter its blood on all sides of the altar.

¹⁴And from his offering he shall present a food offering to the LORD: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them,

¹⁵both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys.

¹⁶Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as a food offering, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.

¹⁷This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.”

Give Praise, O Servants of the LORD

¹Hallelujah!Praise the name of the LORD.Give praise, O servants of the LORD,

²who stand in the house of the LORD,in the courts of the house of our God.

³Hallelujah, for the LORD is good;sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.

⁴For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own,Israel as His treasured possession.

⁵For I know that the LORD is great;our Lord is above all gods.

⁶The LORD does all that pleases Himin the heavens and on the earth,in the seas and in all their depths.

⁷He causes the clouds to risefrom the ends of the earth.He generates the lightning with the rainand brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

⁸He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,of both man and beast.

⁹He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,against Pharaoh and all his servants.

¹⁰He struck down many nationsand slaughtered mighty kings:

¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites,Og king of Bashan,and all the kings of Canaan.

¹²He gave their land as an inheritance,as a heritage to His people Israel.

¹³Your name, O LORD, endures forever,Your renown, O LORD, through all generations.

¹⁴For the LORD will vindicate His peopleand will have compassion on His servants.

¹⁵The idols of the nations are silver and gold,made by the hands of men.

¹⁶They have mouths, but cannot speak;they have eyes, but cannot see;

¹⁷they have ears, but cannot hear;nor is there breath in their mouths.

¹⁸Those who make them become like them,as do all who trust in them.

¹⁹O house of Israel, bless the LORD;O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;

²⁰O house of Levi, bless the LORD;you who fear the LORD, bless the LORD!

²¹Blessed be the LORD from Zion—He who dwells in Jerusalem.Hallelujah!