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.

Now, these, were the pedigrees of Aaron and Moses, —in the day when Yahweh spake with Moses in Mount Sinai.

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

And these, are the names of the sons of Aaron—the firstborn Nadab, —and 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, are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests that were anointed, —who were installed to minister 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.

But Nadab and Abihu died before Yahweh when they brought near strange fire before Yahweh in the desert of Sinai, and sons, had they none, —so then Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests, in the presence of Aaron their father.

5 And the Lord said to Moses,

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying—

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

Bring near the tribe of Levi, and thou shalt cause it to stand before Aaron the priest, —so shall they wait upon 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;

so shall they keep his charge, and the charge of all the assembly, before the tent of meeting, —to do the laborious work of the habitation;

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.

so shall they have charge of all the furniture of the tent of meeting, even the charge of the sons of Israel, —to do the laborious work of the habitation.

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

Thus shalt thou give the Levites unto Aaron and unto his sons, —given, given, they are unto him, from among the sons of Israel;

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.

but unto Aaron, and unto his sons, shalt thou give oversight, so shall they keep charge of their priesthood, —and, the stranger who cometh near, shall be put to death.

11 And the Lord said to Moses,

Then spake Yahweh unto 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;

I, therefore, lo! I have taken the Levites out of the midst of the sons of Israel, instead of every firstborn that a mother beareth, from among the sons of Israel, —so shall the Levites be mine;

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, mine, is every firstborn, in the day when I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto myself every firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast, —mine, did they become, and belong unto me, Yahweh.

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

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, in the desert 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 thou the sons of Levi, by their ancestral houses, by their families, —every male, from one month old and upwards, shalt thou number them.

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

So then Moses numbered them according to the bidding of Yahweh, —as he was commanded.

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

And these were the sons of Levi, by their names, —Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.

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

And these, the names of the sons of Gershon by their families, —Libni and Shimei.

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

And, the sons of Kohath, by their families Amram, and 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 families, Mahli and Mushi. These, are they—the families of the Levites by their ancestral houses.

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

To, Gershon, belonged the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites, —these, are they—the families of the Gershonites.

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

They who were numbered of them in the counting of every male, from one month old, and upwards, —they who were num-bered of them, were seven thousand and five hundred.

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

the families of the Gershonites, to the rear of the habitation, were to encamp, westward.

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

And, the prince of the ancestral house 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,

And, the charge, of the sons of Gershon, was over the tent of meeting, the habitation, and the tent, —the covering thereof, and the screen for 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.

and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the court which was near the habitation and near the altar, round about, —and the cords thereof, as to all the laborious work thereof.

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

And to Kohath, belonged the family of the Amramites and the family of the Izharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites, —these, are they—the families 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.

In, the counting of every male, from one month old and upwards, there were eight thousand and six hundred, to keep the charge of the sanctuary.

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

The, families of the sons of Kohath, were to encamp, —on the side of the habitation, south-ward.

30 Their chief is Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.

And the prince of the ancestral house 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.

And their charge, was—the ark and the table and the lampstand and the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary wherewith they were to minister, —and the screen, as to all the laborious work thereof.

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.

And the prince of the princes of the Levites, was Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, —to have the oversight of them that were to keep the charge of the sanctuary.

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

To Merari, belonged the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites, —these, are they—the families of Merari.

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

And they who were numbered of them in the counting of every male, from one month old and upwards, were six thousand, and two hundred.

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.

And the prince of the ancestral house of the families of Merari, was Zuriel son of Abihail, —on the side of the habitation, were they to encamp northward.

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,

And the oversight of the charge of the sons of Merari, was—the boards of the habitation, and the bars thereof and the pillars thereof and the sockets thereof, —and all the furniture thereof, as to all the laborious work thereof;

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

also the pillars of the court round about and their sockets, —and their pins and their cords.

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.

But, they who were to encamp before the habitation eastwards before the tent of meeting, towards sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons. to keep the charge of the sanctuary, as the charge of the sons of Israel and, the stranger that came near, 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.

All they who were numbered of the Levites whom Moses [and Aaron] numbered at the bidding of Yahweh by their families, —every male, from one month old and upwards, were two-and-twenty thousand.

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

And Yahweh said unto Moses: Number thou every firstborn male belonging to the sons of Israel, from one month old and upwards, —and reckon up the number of 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.

then shalt thou take the Levites for me, me Yahweh, instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel, —also the cattle of the Levites, instead of every firstling among the cattle of the sons of Israel.

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

So then Moses numbered, as Yahweh commanded him, —every firstborn among the sons of Israel.

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.

And it was so—that all the firstborn of the males in the counting of names from one month old and upwards of such as were numbered of them, —were two-and-twenty thousand, two hundred and seventy-three.

44 And the Lord said to Moses,

Then spake Yahweh unto 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, instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites, instead of their cattle, —so shall the Levites belong unto me, me Yahweh;

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,

and as the ransom of the two hundred and seventy-three, —who are more than the Levites, of the firstborn of the sons of Israel,

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

thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll, —by the shekel of the sanctuary, shalt thou take it, twenty gerahs to the shekel;

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

and shalt give the silver to Aaron and to his sons, —as the ransom of them that are in excess over them.

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

So Moses took the redemption silver from them who were in excess over them who were 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;

from the firstborn of the sons of Israel, took he the silver, —a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary,

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

And Moses gave the redemption silver to Aaron and to his sons at the bidding of Yahweh, —As Yahweh commanded Moses.