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 concerning Aaron and Moses when the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.

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

The names of the sons of Aaron were: Nadab (firstborn), 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 the names of Aaron's sons who were anointed and 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 died in the Lord's presence when they offered forbidden fire before the Lord in the Sinai desert. Since they didn't have any sons, Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests while their father Aaron was alive.

5 And the Lord said to Moses,

The Lord told Moses,

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

“Gather the tribe of Levi together and present them to Aaron the priest to help him with the ministry.

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 carry out duties on his behalf and for all the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting, looking after 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 are responsible for caring for all the furniture of the Tent of Meeting, serving the Israelites through what they do in 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.

The Levites are to work exclusively for Aaron and his sons of because this is their assignment 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.

You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to have the responsibility of the priesthood. Anyone else who tries to act as a priest must be executed.”

11 And the Lord said to Moses,

The Lord told Moses,

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;

“I've taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every one of their firstborn. 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.

because all the firstborn are mine. When I killed every firstborn in Egypt I set apart as holy to me all the firstborn of Israel, human and animal. They are mine. I am the Lord.”

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

The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert. He told him,

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.

“Register the Levites by their father's line and family. Count every male aged one month or older.”

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

So Moses registered them following the Lord's instructions, just as he had been told.

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

These were the names of Levi's sons: 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 Gershon's sons by family: Libni and Shimei.

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

Kohath's sons by family 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.

Merari's sons by family were Mahli and Mushi. These were the families of the Levites, according to their father's line.

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

The family of Libni and the family of Shimei came from Gershon. These were the families of Gershon.

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

The total of all males aged one month or older was 7,500.

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

The camp of families of Gerson was to the west, behind the Tabernacle.

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

The leader of the Gershon families 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,

Their assigned responsibility for the Tent of Meeting was to take care of the Tabernacle and tent, its covering, the curtain at the entrance of 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 courtyard curtains, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the Tabernacle and altar, the ropes, and everything connected with their use.

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

The families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel came from Kohath. These were the families of Kohath.

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 total of all males aged one month or older was 8,600. Their assigned responsibility was to take care of the sanctuary.

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

The camp of families of Kohath was on the south side of the Tabernacle.

30 Their chief is Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.

The leader of the Kohath families 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 assigned responsibility was to care for the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used with them, the veil, and everything connected with 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 was in charge of those responsible for serving in the sanctuary.

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

The family of Mahli and the family of Mushi came from Merari. These were the families of Merari.

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

The total of all males aged one month or older 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 Merari families was Zuriel, son of Abihail. Their camp was 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,

Their assigned responsibility was to take care of the Tabernacle's frames, crossbars, posts, stands, all its equipment, and everything connected with their use,

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 stands, 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.

The camp of Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons was to the east of the Tabernacle, in the direction of the sunrise, in front of the Tent of Meeting. They were responsible for the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who tried to act as a priest was to be executed.

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 sum total of Levites registered by Moses and Aaron as the Lord ordered was 22,000. This included all males aged one month or older.

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

The Lord told Moses, “Conduct a census of all the firstborn Israelite males aged one month or older, and register 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.

Assign the Levites to me. I am the Lord. They are in place of all of the Israelites' firstborn children. The livestock of the Levites are in place of all the Israelites' firstborn livestock.”

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

Moses conducted a census of all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord had instructed 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 sum total of the firstborn males a month old or more, registered by name, was 22,273.

44 And the Lord said to Moses,

The Lord spoke to Moses and told him,

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.

“You are to take the Levites in place of all the firstborn children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock, because 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,

In order to buy back the 273 firstborn Israelites who are more than the number of Levites,

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

collect five shekels for each of them, (using the sanctuary shekel standard 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.

He handed the money over to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the extra Israelites.”

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

Moses collected the redemption money for those extra Israelites that were more than 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 given on behalf of the Israelites' firstborn children. It came to 1,365 shekels, (using the sanctuary shekel standard).

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

Moses gave this redemption money to Aaron and his sons as the Lord had told him to, following the Lord's instructions.