Numbers 3

1 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day when the Lord spoke to Moses on mount Sinai.

Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day when the word of the Lord came to 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 oldest, and 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 are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests, on whom the holy oil was put, who were marked out 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.

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.

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

And 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,

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

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

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;

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

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.

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.

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

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.”

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.

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

And the Lord said to Moses,

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.

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;

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 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.

14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying:

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

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

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.

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

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

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 and Kohath and Merari.

18 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei.

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

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

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

20 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.

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.

21 From Gershon were two families: the Libnites, and the Shimeites.

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

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

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

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

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

24 under the leader Eliasaph the son of Lael.

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

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

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,

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.

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.

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 come the Amramites and the Izharites and the Hebronites and the Uzzielites; these are the families 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,

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.

29 and they shall encamp toward the south side.

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

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

Their chief is Elizaphan, the 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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,

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,

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

And the Lord said to Moses,

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 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.

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,

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,

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

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

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

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

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

So Moses took the money, the price of those whose place had not been taken 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.

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

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

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