17:12. And the children of Israel said to Moses: Behold we are consumed, we all perish.
17:13. Whosoever approacheth to the tabernacle of the Lord, he dieth. Are we all to a man to be utterly destroyed?
Numbers Chapter 18
The charge of the priests and of the Levites, and their portion.
18:1. And the Lord said to Aaron: Thou, and thy sons, and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the sins of your priesthood.
Thou, and thy father's house with thee, shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. . .That is, you shall be punished if, through negligence or want of due attention, you err in the discharge of the sacred functions for which you were ordained.
18:2. And take with thee thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, and the sceptre of thy father, and let them be ready in hand, and minister to thee: but thou and thy sons shall minister in the tabernacle of the testimony.
18:3. And the Levites shall watch to do thy commands, and about all the works of the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary nor the altar, lest both they die, and you also perish with them.
18:4. But let them be with thee, and watch in the charge of the tabernacle, and in all the ceremonies thereof. A stranger shall not join himself with you.
18:5. Watch ye in the charge of the sanctuary, and in the ministry of the altar: lest indignation rise upon the children of Israel.