Numbers 3

1 Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with 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 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Aaron’s four sons were Nadab the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the cohanim who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister as cohanim.

They were appointed [MTY] (OR, Moses/I appointed them) to be priests.

4 Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the office of cohen 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 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the cohen, that they may minister to him.

“Bring [the men of] the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron, in order that they may assist him.

7 They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.

They will serve Aaron and all the other Israeli people, while they do their work inside the Sacred Tent and outside it.

8 They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the obligations of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

They must serve all the Israeli people by taking care of all the things that are inside the Sacred Tent.

9 You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel.

Appoint them to [help] Aaron and his two sons. I have chosen them from all the Israeli people to do that.

10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to the duties of cohanim; but the unauthorized person who comes near 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 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh also told Moses/me,

12 "Look, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open 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 all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be 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 The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again in the Sinai Desert. He said,

15 "Count the descendants of Levi by their fathers' houses, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old 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 according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

So Moses/I counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.

17 These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.

Levi had [three] sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

18 These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.

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 Kohath by their families: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

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 by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers' houses.

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 Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites: these are the families of the Gershonites.

The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from [his sons] Libni and Shimei.

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

In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old.

23 The families of the Gershonites shall camp behind the tabernacle westward.

They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent.

24 The prince of the fathers' house of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.

The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.

25 The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,

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 and the curtaining of the court, and the screen for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and around the altar, and its cords for all of its service.

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 Kohath was 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.

The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, keeping the requirements 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 The families of the sons of Kohath shall camp on the south side of the tabernacle.

They set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent.

30 The prince of the fathers' house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.

31 Their duty shall be the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the vessels of the Holy Place with which they minister, and the curtain, and all its service.

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 Eleazar the son of Aaron the cohen shall be chief of the leaders of the Levites, with the oversight of those who keep the requirements 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 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari.

The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from [his sons] Mahli and Mushi.

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

In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old.

35 The prince of the fathers' house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall camp on the north side of the tabernacle.

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 The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle's boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its 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 the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and 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 Those who camp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel. The stranger who comes near 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 who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, by their families, all the males from a month old 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 The LORD said to Moses, "Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.

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 You shall take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock 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 numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among 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 All the firstborn males according to the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.

The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.

44 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

45 "Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock; 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 For the redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, who exceed the number of the Levites,

There are 273 more firstborn males of the other Israeli people than of the descendants of Levi.

47 you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; after the shekel of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs):

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 you shall give the money, with which the remainder of them is redeemed, to Aaron and to his sons."

49 Moses took the redemption money from those who exceeded the number of those who were redeemed by the Levites;

So Moses/I did that. He/I collected the silver from those 273 males.

50 from the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, after the shekel 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 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Moses/I gave these silver coins to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.