God

All the contributions of holy things which the people of Isra'el offer to ADONAI I have given to you, your sons and your daughters with you; this is a perpetual law, an eternal covenant of salt before ADONAI for you and your descendants with you."

ADONAI said to Aharon, "You are not to have any inheritance or portion in their land; I am your portion and inheritance among the people of Isra'el.

"To the descendants of Levi I have given the entire tenth of the produce collected in Isra'el. It is their inheritance in payment for the service they render in the tent of meeting.

because I have given to the L'vi'im as their inheritance the tenths of the produce which the people of Isra'el set aside as a gift for ADONAI. This is why I have said to them that they are to have no inheritance among the people of Isra'el."

ADONAI said to Moshe,

"Tell the L'vi'im, 'When you take from the people of Isra'el the tenth of the produce which I have given you from them as your inheritance, you are to set aside from it a gift for ADONAI, one tenth of the tenth.

In this way you will set aside a gift for ADONAI from all your tenths that you receive from the people of Isra'el, and from these tenths you are to give to Aharon the cohen the gift set aside for ADONAI.

From everything given to you, you are to set aside all that is due ADONAI, the best part of it, its holy portion.'

ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon,

"This is the regulation from the Torah which ADONAI has commanded. Tell the people of Isra'el to bring you a young red female cow without fault or defect and which has never borne a yoke.

Anyone who touches a corpse, no matter whose dead body it is, and does not purify himself has defiled the tabernacle of ADONAI. That person will be cut off from Isra'el, because the water for purification was not sprinkled on him. He will be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

The person who remains unclean and does not purify himself will be cut off from the community because he has defiled the sanctuary of ADONAI. The water for purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.

The people quarreled with Moshe and said, "We wish we had died when our brothers died before ADONAI.

Why did you bring ADONAI's community into this desert? To die there, we and our livestock?

Moshe and Aharon left the assembly, went to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces; and the glory of ADONAI appeared to them.

ADONAI said to Moshe,

Moshe took the staff from the presence of ADONAI, as he had ordered him.

But ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon, "Because you did not trust in me, so as to cause me to be regarded as holy by the people of Isra'el, you will not bring this community into the land I have given them."

This is M'rivah Spring [Disputation Spring], where the people of Isra'el disputed with ADONAI, and he was caused to be regarded as holy by them.

But when we cried out to ADONAI, he heard us, sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now here we are in Kadesh, a city at the edge of your territory.

At Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon,

"Aharon is about to be gathered to his people, because he is not to enter the land I have given to the people of Isra'el, inasmuch as you rebelled against what I said at the M'rivah Spring.

Moshe did as ADONAI had ordered. They went up onto Mount Hor before the eyes of the whole community.

Isra'el made a vow to ADONAI, "If you will hand this people over to me, I will completely destroy their cities."

ADONAI listened to what Isra'el said and handed over the Kena'anim, so they completely destroyed them and their cities and named the place Hormah [complete destruction].