Numbers 3

1 Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day when the word of the Lord came to Moses on Mount Sinai.

This is the account of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the oldest, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, then Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests, on whom the holy oil was put, who were marked out as priests.

These were Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests.

4 And Nadab and Abihu were put to death before the Lord when they made an offering of strange fire before the Lord, in the waste land of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar did the work of priests before Aaron their father.

Nadab and Abihu, however, died in the presence of the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai. And since they had no sons, only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.

5 And the Lord said to Moses,

Then the LORD said to Moses,

6 Make the tribe of Levi come near, and put them before Aaron the priest, to be his helpers,

“Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.

7 In order that they may be responsible to him and to all Israel for the care of the Tent of meeting, and to do the work of the House;

They are to perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, attending to the service of the tabernacle.

8 And they will have the care of all the vessels of the Tent of meeting, and will do for the children of Israel all the necessary work of the House.

They shall take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting and fulfill obligations for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle.

9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; so that they may be his without question from among the children of Israel.

Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been given exclusively to him from among the Israelites.

10 And give orders that Aaron and his sons are to keep their place as priests; any strange person who comes near is to be put to death.

So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”

11 And the Lord said to Moses,

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

12 See, I have taken the Levites out of the children of Israel to be mine in place of the first sons of the children of Israel;

“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to Me,

13 For all the first sons are mine; on the day when I put to death all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I took for myself every first male birth of man and beast. They are mine; I am the Lord.

for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They are Mine; I am the LORD.”

14 And the Lord said to Moses in the waste land of Sinai,

Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying,

15 Let all the children of Levi be numbered by their families and their fathers' houses; let every male of a month old and over be numbered.

“Number the Levites by their families and clans. You are to count every male a month old or more.”

16 So Moses did as the Lord said, numbering them as he had been ordered.

So Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he had been commanded.

17 These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.

These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon, by their families: Libni and Shimei.

These were the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei.

19 And the sons of Kohath, by their families: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel.

The sons of Kohath by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

20 And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites in the order of their fathers' houses.

And the sons of Merari by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites, according to their families.

21 From Gershon come the Libnites and the Shimeites; these are the families of the Gershonites.

From Gershon came the Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan; these were the Gershonite clans.

22 Those who were numbered of them, the males from one month old and over, were seven thousand, five hundred.

The number of all the males a month old or more was 7,500.

23 The tents of the Gershonites are to be placed at the back of the House, to the west.

The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle,

24 The chief of the Gershonites is Eliasaph, the son of Lael.

and the leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael.

25 In the Tent of meeting, the Gershonites are to have the care of the House, and the Tent with its cover, and the veil for the door of the Tent of meeting,

The duties of the Gershonites at the Tent of Meeting were the tabernacle and tent, its covering, the curtain for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,

26 And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, and all the cords needed for its use.

the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and altar, and the cords—all the service for these items.

27 From Kohath come the Amramites and the Izharites and the Hebronites and the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites.

From Kohath came the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites.

28 Those who were numbered of them, the males from one month old and over, were eight thousand, six hundred, who were responsible for the care of the holy place.

The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. They were responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.

29 The tents of the Kohathites are to be placed on the south side of the House.

The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,

30 Their chief is Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.

and the leader of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.

31 In their care are the ark, and the table, and the lights, and the altars, and all the vessels used in the holy place, and the veil, and all they are used for.

Their duties were the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used with them, and the curtain—all the service for these items.

32 Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, will be head over all the Levites and overseer of those responsible for the care of the holy place.

The chief of the leaders of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he oversaw those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.

33 From Merari come the Mahlites and the Mushites; these are the families of Merari.

From Merari came the clans of the Mahlites and Mushites; these were the Merarite clans.

34 Those who were numbered of them, the males of a month old and over, were six thousand, two hundred.

The number of all the males a month old or more was 6,200.

35 The chief of the families of Merari was Zuriel, the son of Abihail: their tents are to be placed on the north side of the House.

The leader of the families of the Merarites was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.

36 And in their care are to be all the boards of the Tent, with their rods and pillars and bases, and all the instruments, and all they are used for,

The duties assigned to the sons of Merari were the tabernacle’s frames, crossbars, posts, bases, and all its equipment—all the service for these items,

37 And the pillars of the open space round it, with their bases and nails and cords.

as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.

38 And those whose tents are to be placed on the east side of the House in front of the Tent of meeting, looking to the dawn, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, who will do the work of the holy place for the children of Israel; and any strange person who comes near will be put to death.

Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, before the Tent of Meeting. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites; but any outsider who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.

39 All the Levites numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord, all the males of one month old and over numbered in the order of their families, were twenty-two thousand.

The total number of Levites that Moses and Aaron counted by their clans at the LORD’s command, including all the males a month old or more, was 22,000.

40 And the Lord said to Moses, Let all the first male children be numbered, and take the number of their names.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the Israelites a month old or more, and list their names.

41 And give to me the Levites (I am the Lord) in place of the first sons of the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of the first births among the cattle of the children of Israel.

You are to take the Levites for Me—I am the LORD—in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites.”

42 So Moses had all the first sons among the children of Israel numbered, as the Lord said to him.

So Moses numbered all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the LORD had commanded him.

43 Every first son from a month old and over was numbered by name, and the number came to twenty-two thousand, two hundred and seventy-three.

The total number of the firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.

44 And the Lord said to Moses,

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

45 Take the Levites in place of all the first sons of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle; the Levites are to be mine; I am the Lord.

“Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites belong to Me; I am the LORD.

46 And the price you have to give for the two hundred and seventy-three first sons of the children of Israel which are in addition to the number of the Levites,

To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites,

47 Will be five shekels for every one, by the scale of the holy place (the shekel is twenty gerahs);

you are to collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs.

48 And this money, the price of those over the number of the Levites, is to be given to Aaron and his sons.

Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the excess among the Israelites.”

49 So Moses took the money, the price of those whose place had not been taken by the Levites;

So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the number redeemed by the Levites.

50 From the first sons of Israel he took it, a thousand, three hundred and sixty-five shekels, by the scale of the holy place;

He collected the money from the firstborn of the Israelites: 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.

51 And he gave the money to Aaron and his sons, as the Lord had said.

And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the word of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.