and Aaron is to offer ¹  the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, that they may do the work ²  of the Lord.

Their relatives, who were leaders of their families, numbered 1,760. They were capable men who were assigned to carry out the various tasks of service in God’s temple. ¹ 

They divided them by lots, for there were officials of the holy place and officials designated by God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. ¹ 

“Who then is the faithful and wise slave, ¹  whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves ²  their food at the proper time?

thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, ¹  and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

to the latter an odor ¹  from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? ² 

Not that we are adequate ¹  in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy ²  is from God,

who made us adequate ¹  to be servants of a new covenant ²  not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

For we rejoice whenever we are weak, but you are strong. And we pray for this: that you may become fully qualified. ¹ 

To me – less than the least of all the saints ¹  – this grace was given, ²  to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ

The overseer ¹  then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, ²  temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher,

These were the descendants of Levi according to their families, that is, the leaders of families as counted and individually listed who carried out assigned tasks in the Lord’s temple and were twenty years old and up. ¹ 

As for the Hebronites: Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 respected men, were assigned responsibilities in Israel west of the Jordan; they did the Lord’s work and the king’s service.

Because many in the assembly had not consecrated themselves, the Levites slaughtered ¹  the Passover lambs of all who were ceremonially unclean and could not consecrate their sacrifice to the Lord. ² 

For we all stumble ¹  in many ways. If someone does not stumble ²  in what he says, ³  he is a perfect individual, ⁴  able to control the entire body as well.

when David, along with his men, went out ¹  and struck down two hundred Philistine men. David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so he could become the king’s son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.

But there were not enough priests to skin all the animals, ¹  so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and the priests could consecrate themselves. (The Levites had been more conscientious about consecrating themselves than the priests.) ² 

King Hezekiah of Judah supplied 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep ¹  for the assembly, while the officials supplied them ²  with 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. Many priests consecrated themselves.

The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen ¹  me. ²  He has commissioned ³  me to encourage ⁴  the poor, to help ⁵  the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners,

young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, ¹  well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated ²  and having keen insight, ³  and who were capable ⁴  of entering the king’s royal service ⁵  – and to teach them the literature and language ⁶  of the Babylonians. ⁷