Numbers 3

1 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day when the Lord spoke 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 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: his firstborn Nadab, then Abihu, and 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 who were anointed and whose hands were filled and consecrated in order to exercise the priesthood.

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

4 For Nadab and Abihu died without children, when they offered, in the sight of the Lord, a strange fire, in the desert of Sinai. And so, Eleazar and Ithamar exercised the priesthood in the sight of 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 spoke to Moses, saying:

Then the LORD said to Moses,

6 “Bring forward the tribe of Levi, and cause them to stand in the sight of Aaron the priest, in order to minister to him. And let them keep watch outside,

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

7 and let them observe whatever pertains to the ritual for the multitude, in front of the tabernacle of the testimony,

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 let them take care of the vessels of the tabernacle, serving in its ministry.

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 And you shall give the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons; for they have been delivered to them by the sons of Israel.

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

10 But you shall appoint Aaron and his sons over the service of the priesthood. The outsider who approaches to minister shall 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 spoke to Moses, saying:

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

12 “I have taken the Levites from the sons of Israel. For the Levites, and all the firstborn who open the womb among the sons of Israel, shall be mine.

“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 every firstborn is mine. From the time that I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified for myself whatever is born first in Israel. From man, even to 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 spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying:

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

15 “Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and above.”

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

16 Moses numbered them, just as the Lord had instructed,

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

17 and there were found the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.

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

18 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei.

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

19 The sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

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

20 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.

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 were two families: the Libnites, and the Shimeites.

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

22 The people of these were numbered, of the male sex, from one month and above: seven thousand five hundred.

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

23 These shall encamp behind the tabernacle, toward the west,

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

24 under the leader Eliasaph the son of Lael.

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

25 And they shall keep watch over the tabernacle of the covenant:

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 the tabernacle itself, and its covering; the tent that is drawn before the doors of the covering of the covenant; and the curtains of the atrium; likewise, the tent that is suspended at the entrance of the atrium of the tabernacle; and whatever pertains to the ritual of the altar; the cords of the tabernacle and all its implements.

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 The kinship of Kohath includes the peoples of the Amramites and Izharites and Hebronites and Uzzielites. These are the families of the Kohathites, having been counted by their names,

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

28 all those of the male gender, from one month and above: eight thousand six hundred. They shall keep watch over the Sanctuary,

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

29 and they shall encamp toward the south side.

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

30 And their leader shall be Elisaphan the son of Uzziel.

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

31 And they shall take care of the ark, and the table and the lampstand, the altars and the vessels of the Sanctuary, by which they minister, and the veil, and all the articles of this kind.

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 But the leader of the leaders of the Levites, Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, shall be over those who watch over the care of the Sanctuary.

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 And truly, from Merari are the peoples of the Mahlites and Mushites, having been counted by their names,

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

34 all those of the male gender, from one month and above: six thousand two hundred.

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

35 Their leader is Suriel the son of Abihaiel. They shall make camp on the north side.

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 Under their care shall be the panels of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the columns with their bases, and all the things which pertain to service of this kind,

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 columns of the surrounding atrium with their bases, and the tent pegs with their cords.

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

38 Moses and Aaron, with their sons, shall make camp before the tabernacle of the covenant, that is, on the east side, holding the custody of the Sanctuary in the midst of the sons of Israel. Whatever foreigner approaches it shall die.

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, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by their families according to the precept of the Lord, of the male gender, from one month and above, 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: “Number the firstborn of the male sex from the sons of Israel, from one month and above, and you shall take their total.

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

41 And you shall bring the Levites to me, in place of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and you shall bring their cattle to me, in place of all the firstborn of the cattle of the sons of Israel. I am the Lord.”

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 Moses took a census, just as the Lord had instructed, of the firstborn of the sons of Israel.

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

43 And the males by their names, from one month and above, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.

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

44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

45 “Take the Levites, in place of the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites, in place of their cattle, and so the Levites shall 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 But for the price of the two hundred and seventy-three, which exceed the number of the Levites compared to the number of firstborn of the sons of Israel,

To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites,

47 you shall take five shekels for each head, by the measure of the Sanctuary. A shekel has twenty obols.

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

48 And you shall give the money to Aaron and his sons as the price of those that are in excess.”

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

49 Therefore, Moses took the money for those that were in excess, and whom they had redeemed from the Levites

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

50 in place of the firstborn of the sons of Israel: one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary.

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

51 And he gave it to Aaron and his sons, according to the word by which the Lord had instructed him.

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.