It will belong to Aaron and his sons, and they must eat it in a holy place because it is most holy to him, a perpetual allotted portion ¹  from the gifts of the Lord.”

If, however, the one who consecrated the field redeems it, ¹  he must add to it one fifth of the conversion price ²  and it will belong to him. ³ 

“Bring with you your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join ¹  with you and minister to you while ²  you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.

You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.

You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute ¹  or the wage of a male prostitute ²  into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Of Levi he said: Your Thummim and Urim ¹  belong to your godly one, ²  whose authority you challenged at Massah, ³  and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah. ⁴ 

Gideon used all this to make ¹  an ephod, ²  which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites ³  prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it ⁴  there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

The Danites worshiped ¹  the carved image. Jonathan, descendant ²  of Gershom, son of Moses, ³  and his descendants ⁴  served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile.

(For this reason, to this very day, neither Dagon’s priests nor anyone else who enters Dagon’s temple step on Dagon’s threshold in Ashdod.)

But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with the servants of Saul, replied, “I saw this son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob.

Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five ¹  men who wore the linen ephod.

Zadok and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. When they positioned the ark of God, Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving ¹  the city.

Jehoiada and his sons led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. ¹  They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. ²  They declared, “Long live the king!”

(Wicked Athaliah and her sons had broken into God’s temple and used all the holy items of the Lord’s temple in their worship of the Baals.)

It was determined ¹  that from the descendants of the priests, the following had taken foreign wives: from the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.

‘We ¹  are ashamed because we have been insulted. ²  Our faces show our disgrace. ³  For foreigners have invaded the holy rooms ⁴  in the Lord’s temple.’

this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tear off the turban, ¹  take off the crown! Things must change! ²  Exalt the lowly, bring down the proud! ³ 

You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law; ¹  you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,” ²  says the Lord who rules over all.

saying, “We gave ¹  you strict orders ²  not to teach in this name. ³  Look, ⁴  you have filled Jerusalem ⁵  with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood ⁶  on us!”

For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, ¹  in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer ²  of their salvation perfect through sufferings.