¹¹ “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites.^(A) Since he was as zealous for my honor^(B) among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. ¹² Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace^(C) with him. ¹³ He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood,^(D) because he was zealous^(E) for the honor^(F) of his God and made atonement^(G) for the Israelites.”^(H)

⁸ At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi^(A) to carry the ark of the covenant^(B) of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister^(C) and to pronounce blessings^(D) in his name, as they still do today.^(E)

⁸ About Levi^(A) he said:

²⁹ Remember^(A) them, my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.^(B)

¹⁷ For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail^(A) to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, ¹⁸ nor will the Levitical^(B) priests^(C) ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.^(D)’”

¹⁹ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁰ “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day^(E) and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time,^{(F) 21} then my covenant^(G) with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites^(H) who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.^{(I) 22} I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless^(J) as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’”