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When they are one month old, you must buy them back at the fixed price of two ounces of silver using the standard weight of the holy place.
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"But you must never buy back a firstborn ox, sheep, or goat. They are holy. Throw the blood from these animals against the altar, and burn the fat as an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the LORD.
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But the meat is yours, like the breast and the right thigh that are presented.
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I am giving you, your sons, and your daughters all the holy contributions the Israelites bring to the LORD. These contributions will always be yours. It is an everlasting promise of salt in the LORD's presence for you and your descendants."
20
The LORD said to Aaron, "You will have no land or property of your own as the other Israelites will have. I am your possession and your property among the Israelites.
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"I am giving the Levites one-tenth of every Israelite's income. This is in return for the work they do at the tent of meeting.
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The other Israelites must never again come near the tent of meeting. Otherwise, they'll suffer the consequences of their sin and die.
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Only the Levites will do the work at the tent of meeting. They will be responsible for their own sins. This is a permanent law for future generations. They will own no property as the other Israelites will.
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Instead, I will give the Levites what the Israelites contribute to the LORD--one-tenth of the Israelites' income. This is why I said about them, 'They will own no property as the other Israelites do.'"
25
The LORD said to Moses,
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"Speak to the Levites and say to them: You will take one-tenth of the Israelites' income which I'm giving you as your property. When you do, you must contribute one-tenth of that income as your contribution to the LORD.