Numbers 3

1 And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Jehovah spoke with 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: Nadab the firstborn, 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 anointed priests, who were consecrated to exercise the priesthood.

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

4 And Nadab and Abihu died before Jehovah when they offered strange fire before Jehovah in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons; and Eleazar and Ithamar exercised the priesthood in the presence 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 Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Then the LORD said to Moses,

6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him;

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

7 and they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole assembly, before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.

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 shall keep all the utensils of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

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 thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given to him out of 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 Aaron and his sons shalt thou appoint that they may attend to their priest's office; and the stranger that cometh near 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 Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that breaketh open the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites 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. On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be: I am Jehovah.

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 Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

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

15 Number the sons of Levi according to their fathers' houses, after their families; every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.

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

16 And Moses numbered them, according to the commandment of Jehovah, — as he had been commanded.

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

17 And these are 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 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon according to 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 according to their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

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

20 And the sons of Merari according to their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to 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 Of Gershon, the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.

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

22 Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, those that were numbered of them were seven thousand five hundred.

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

23 The families of the Gershonites encamped behind the tabernacle westward.

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

24 And the prince of the father's house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

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

25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was: the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain of the entrance to 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 of the court, and the curtain of the entrance to the court, which surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the cords thereof for all its service.

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 And of Kohath, 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 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 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, who kept the charge of 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 The families of the sons of Kohath encamped on the side of the tabernacle southward.

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

30 And the prince of the father's house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

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

31 And their charge was the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, and the curtain, and all that belongs to its service.

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 And the prince of princes of the Levites was Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest: he had the oversight of them that kept the charge 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 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.

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

34 And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred.

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

35 And the prince of the father's house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They encamped on the side of the tabernacle northward.

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 the charge of the sons of Merari consisted in the oversight of the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its bases, and all its furniture, and all that belongs to its service,

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 court round about, and their bases, and their pegs, and their cords.

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

38 And those who encamped before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, were Moses, and Aaron and his sons, who kept the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh near shall 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 that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of Jehovah, according to their families, all the males from a month old and upward, 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 Jehovah said to Moses, Number all the first-born males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, 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 thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am Jehovah) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites, instead of all the firstlings 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 And Moses numbered, as Jehovah had commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

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

43 And all the firstborn males, by the number of the names, from a month old and upward, according to their numbering, were 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 Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

45 Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am Jehovah.

“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 for those that are to be ransomed, the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are in excess over the Levites,

To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites,

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

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

48 and thou shalt give the money unto Aaron and unto his sons for those in excess among them who are to be ransomed.

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

49 And Moses took the ransom-money from them that were over and above those who were ransomed by the Levites;

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

50 of the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, a thousand three hundred and sixty-five [shekels], according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

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

51 And Moses gave the money of them that were ransomed to Aaron and to his sons, according to the commandment of Jehovah, — as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

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.