Numbers 3
1 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai.
These are some of the things that happened to Aaron and Moses/me when Yahweh spoke to Moses/me on Sinai Mountain.
2 And these the names of the sons of Aaron: his firstborn Nadab, then Abiu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.
Aaron’s four sons were Nadab the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 These the names of the sons of Aaron the priests that were anointed, and whose hands were filled and consecrated, to do the functions of priesthood.
They were appointed [MTY] (OR, Moses/I appointed them) to be priests.
4 Now Nadab and Abiu died, without children, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the desert of Sinai: and Eleazar and Ithamar performed the priestly office in the presence of Aaron their father.
But, while Yahweh was watching, Nadab and Abihu died in the Sinai Desert because they burned [incense] in a manner that was different from what Yahweh had commanded. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar were the [only] sons of Aaron who [were left to be] priests, along with their father Aaron.
5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
6 Bring the tribe of Levi, and make them stand in the sight of Aaron the priest to minister to him, and let them watch,
“Bring [the men of] the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron, in order that they may assist him.
7 And observe whatsoever appertaineth to the service of the multitude before the tabernacle of the testimony,
They will serve Aaron and all the other Israeli people, while they do their work inside the Sacred Tent and outside it.
8 And let them keep the vessels of the tabernacle, serving in the ministry thereof.
They must serve all the Israeli people by taking care of all the things that are inside the Sacred Tent.
9 And thou shalt give the Levites for a gift,
Appoint them to [help] Aaron and his two sons. I have chosen them from all the Israeli people to do that.
10 To Aaron and to his sons, to whom they are delivered by the children of Israel. But thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons over the service of priesthood. The stranger that approacheth to minister, shall be put to death.
Appoint Aaron and his two sons to do the work that priests do. But anyone else who comes close to the Sacred Tent [to do that work] must be executed.”
11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Yahweh also told Moses/me,
12 I have taken the Levites from the children of Israel, for every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.
“Note that from all the Israelis, I have chosen the men of the tribe of Levi to take the places of all the firstborn sons of the Israeli people. The male descendants of Levi belong to me,
13 For every firstborn is mine: since I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt: I have sanctified to myself whatsoever is firstborn in Israel both of man and beast, they are mine: I am the Lord.
because truly all the firstborn [males] belong to me. That is because on the day that I killed all the firstborn [sons] of the people of Egypt, I [spared] all the firstborn [sons] of the Israelis and set them apart for myself. I also set apart the firstborn [males] of your domestic animals. They belong to me, Yahweh.”
14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying:
Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again in the Sinai Desert. He said,
15 Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and upward.
“Count the male members of the tribe of Levi. Write down their names and the names of their clans and family groups. Count all the males who are at least one month old.”
16 Moses numbered them as the Lord had commanded.
So Moses/I counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.
17 And there were found sons of Levi by their names, Gerson and Caath and Merari.
Levi had [three] sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 The sons of Gerson: Lebni and Semei.
Gershon had [two] sons: Libni and Shimei. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those [two] sons.
19 The sons of Caath: Amram, and Jesaar, Hebron and Oziel:
Kohath had [four] sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those [four] sons.
20 The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi.
Merari had [two] sons: Mahli and Mushi. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those [two] sons. Those are the clans that were descended from Levi.
21 Of Gerson were two families, the Lebnites, and the Semeites:
The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from [his sons] Libni and Shimei.
22 Of which were numbered, people of the male sex from one month and upward, seven thousand five hundred.
In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old.
23 These shall pitch behind the tabernacle on the west,
They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent.
24 Under their prince Eliasaph the son of Lael.
The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.
25 And their charge shall be in the tabernacle of the covenant:
Their work was to take care of the Sacred Tent, including the coverings of the tent, the curtain at the entrance of the tent,
26 The tabernacle itself and the cover thereof, the hanging that is drawn before the doors of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the curtains of the court: the hanging also that is hanged in the entry of the court of the tabernacle, and whatsoever belongeth to the rite of the altar, the cords of the tabernacle, and all the furniture thereof.
the (curtains/large pieces of cloth) that formed the walls around the courtyard that is around the tent and around the altar, the curtains that were at the entrance of the courtyard, and the ropes [for fastening the tent]. They also did all the work of taking care of the things outside the Sacred Tent.
27 Of the kindred of Caath come the families of the Amramites and Jesaarites and Hebronites and Ozielites. These are the families of the Caathites reckoned up by their names:
The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
28 All of the male sex from one month and upward, eight thousand six hundred: they shall have the guard of the sanctuary,
In those four clans there were 8,600 males who were at least one month old. The work of the men of the clans was to take care of [the things that are inside] the Sacred Tent.
29 And shall camp on the south side.
They set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent.
30 And their prince shall be Elisaphan the son of Oziel:
The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.
31 And they shall keep the ark, and the table and the candlestick, the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary, wherewith they minister, and the veil, and all the furniture of this kind.
The work of the men of those clans was to take care of the sacred chest, the table [on which the priest put the sacred bread], the lampstand, the altars, all the items that the priest used in the Sacred Tent, and the curtain that is inside the tent. Their work was also to take care of the things inside the tent.
32 And the prince of the princes of the Levites, Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, shall be over them that watch for the guard of the sanctuary.
Aaron’s son Eleazar was the leader of all the male descendants of Levi. He supervised all the work that was done at the Sacred Tent.
33 And of Merari are the families of the Moholites, and Musites, reckoned up by their names:
The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from [his sons] Mahli and Mushi.
34 All of the male kind from one month and upward, six thousand two hundred.
In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old.
35 Their prince Suriel the son of Abihaiel: they shall camp on the north side.
They were told to set up their tents on the north side of the Sacred Tent. The leader of those two clans was Zuriel, the son of Abihail.
36 Under their custody shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the pillars and their sockets, and all things that pertain to this kind of service:
The work of the men of those two clans was to take care of the frames that held up the tent, the crossbars, the pillars, and the bases. They also did all the work that was connected with those items.
37 And the pillars of the court round about with their sockets, and the pins with their cords.
Their work was also to take care of the posts [that held up the curtains that formed the walls of] the courtyard, and all the bases, tent pegs, and ropes [that fastened those curtains].
38 Before the tabernacle of the covenant, that is to say on the east side, shall Moses and Aaron camp, with their sons, having the custody of the sanctuary, in the midst of the children of Israel. What stranger soever cometh unto it, shall be put to death.
Aaron and Moses/I and Aaron’s sons were told to set up their/our tents in the area in front of the Sacred Tent, on the east side. Their/Our work was to supervise the work that would be done in and around the Sacred Tent, for the benefit of the Israeli people. Only the priests were permitted to do that. [Yahweh declared that] we should execute anyone else who went near the tent [to do the work that the priests do].
39 All the Levites, that Moses and Aaron numbered according to the precept of the Lord, by their families, of the male kind from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand.
When Aaron and Moses/I counted all the males who were at least one month old, who belonged to the clans descended from Levi, the total was 22,000.
40 And the Lord said to Moses: Number the firstborn of the male sex of the children of Israel, from one month and upward, and thou shalt take the sum of them.
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Now count all the [other] firstborn males in Israel who are at least one month old, and write down their names.
41 And thou shalt take the Levites to me for all the firstborn of the children of Israel, I am the Lord: and their cattle for all the firstborn of the cattle of the children of Israel:
Also, set apart for me the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn males of the other Israelis. And set apart for me the livestock of the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the other Israeli people.”
42 Moses reckoned up, as the Lord had commanded, the firstborn of the children of Israel:
So Moses/I did that. He/I counted the firstborn males of all the Israeli people, as Yahweh had commanded.
43 And the males by their names, from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.
The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.
44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saving:
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
45 Take the Levites for the firstborn of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites for their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.
“Set apart the descendants of Levi to be substitutes for [the firstborn males of] the other Israeli people. The descendants of Levi belong to me, Yahweh.
46 But for the price of the two hundred and seventy-three, of the firstborn of the children of Israel, that exceed the number of the Levites,
There are 273 more firstborn males of the other Israeli people than of the descendants of Levi.
47 Thou shalt take five sides for every head, according to the weight of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols.
To pay for these 273 males, collect five pieces of silver for each of them. Each of those pieces of silver must weigh the same as each of the silver coins that are stored in the Sacred Tent. Give this silver to Aaron and his sons.”
48 And then shalt give the money to Aaron and his sons, the price of them that are above.
49 Moses therefore took the money of them that were above, and whom they had redeemed from the Levites,
So Moses/I did that. He/I collected the silver from those 273 males.
50 For the firstborn of the children of Israel, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary,
The total was 1,365 pieces of silver. Each silver coin weighed the same as each of the silver coins stored in the Sacred Tent.
51 And gave it to Aaron and his sons, according to the word that the Lord had commanded him.
Moses/I gave these silver coins to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.
