15. For Moses ordained himand anointed him with the holy oil,In a lasting covenant with him and his family,as permanent as the heavens,That he should serve God in the priesthoodand bless the people in his name.
16. He chose him from all the livingto sacrifice burnt offerings and choice portions,To burn incense, sweet odor as a memorial,and to atone for the people of Israel.
17. He gave to him the laws,and authority to prescribe and to judge:To teach precepts to the people,and judgments to the Israelites.
18. Strangers rose in anger against him,grew jealous of him in the desert—The followers of Dathan and Abiram,and the band of Korah in their defiance.
19. When the Lord saw this he became angry,and destroyed them in his burning wrath.He brought against them a marvel,and consumed them in flaming fire.
20. Then he increased the glory of Aaronand bestowed upon him his inheritance:The sacred offerings he allotted to him,with the showbread as his portion;
21. The oblations of the Lord are his food,a gift to him and his descendants.
22. But he holds no land among the peoplenor shares with them their heritage;For the Lord himself is his portion and inheritanceamong the Israelites.
23. Phinehas too, the son of Eleazar,was the courageous third of his lineWhen, zealous for the God of all,he met the crisis of his peopleAnd, at the prompting of his noble heart,atoned for the children of Israel.