Numbers 3

1 Now, these, were the pedigrees of Aaron and Moses, —in the day when Yahweh spake with Moses in 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—the firstborn Nadab, —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 priests that were anointed, —who were installed to minister as priests.

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

4 But Nadab and Abihu died before Yahweh when they brought near strange fire before Yahweh in the desert of Sinai, and sons, had they none, —so then Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests, 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 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying—

Then the LORD said to Moses,

6 Bring near the tribe of Levi, and thou shalt cause it to stand before Aaron the priest, —so shall they wait upon him;

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

7 so shall they keep his charge, and the charge of all the assembly, before the tent of meeting, —to do the laborious work of the habitation;

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 so shall they have charge of all the furniture of the tent of meeting, even the charge of the sons of Israel, —to do the laborious work of the habitation.

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 Thus shalt thou give the Levites unto Aaron and unto his sons, —given, given, they are unto him, from among 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 unto Aaron, and unto his sons, shalt thou give oversight, so shall they keep charge of their priesthood, —and, the stranger who 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 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying—

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

12 I, therefore, lo! I have taken the Levites out of the midst of the sons of Israel, instead of every firstborn that a mother beareth, from among the sons of Israel, —so shall the Levites 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, mine, is every firstborn, in the day when I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto myself every firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast, —mine, did they become, and belong unto me, Yahweh.

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 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, in the desert of Sinai, saying: —

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

15 Number thou the sons of Levi, by their ancestral houses, by their families, —every male, from one month old and upwards, shalt thou number them.

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

16 So then Moses numbered them according to the bidding of Yahweh, —as he was commanded.

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

17 And these were 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, the names of the sons of Gershon by 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, by 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 by their families, Mahli and Mushi. These, are they—the families of the Levites by their ancestral 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 To, Gershon, belonged the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites, —these, are they—the families of the Gershonites.

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

22 They who were numbered of them in the counting of every male, from one month old, and upwards, —they who were num-bered of them, were seven thousand and five hundred.

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

23 the families of the Gershonites, to the rear of the habitation, were to encamp, westward.

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

24 And, the prince of the ancestral house of the Gershonites, was Eliasaph 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, was over the tent of meeting, the habitation, and the tent, —the covering thereof, and the screen for the entrance of 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 screen for the entrance of the court which was near the habitation and near the altar, round about, —and the cords thereof, as to all the laborious work thereof.

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 to Kohath, belonged 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 they—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 In, the counting of every male, from one month old and upwards, there were eight thousand and six hundred, to keep 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, were to encamp, —on the side of the habitation, south-ward.

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

30 And the prince of the ancestral house of the families of the Kohathites, was Elizaphan, 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 lampstand and the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary wherewith they were to minister, —and the screen, as to all the laborious work thereof.

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 the princes of the Levites, was Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, —to have the oversight of them that were to keep 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 To Merari, belonged the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites, —these, are they—the families of Merari.

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

34 And they who were numbered of them in the counting of every male, from one month old and upwards, were six thousand, and two hundred.

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

35 And the prince of the ancestral house of the families of Merari, was Zuriel son of Abihail, —on the side of the habitation, were they to encamp 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 oversight of the charge of the sons of Merari, was—the boards of the habitation, and the bars thereof and the pillars thereof and the sockets thereof, —and all the furniture thereof, as to all the laborious work thereof;

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 also the pillars of the court round about and their sockets, —and their pins and their cords.

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

38 But, they who were to encamp before the habitation eastwards before the tent of meeting, towards sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons. to keep the charge of the sanctuary, as the charge of the sons of Israel and, the stranger that came near, was to 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 they who were numbered of the Levites whom Moses [and Aaron] numbered at the bidding of Yahweh by their families, —every male, from one month old and upwards, were two-and-twenty 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 Yahweh said unto Moses: Number thou every firstborn male belonging to the sons of Israel, from one month old and upwards, —and reckon up 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 then shalt thou take the Levites for me, me Yahweh, instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel, —also the cattle of the Levites, instead of every firstling among the cattle of the sons 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 So then Moses numbered, as Yahweh commanded him, —every firstborn among the sons of Israel.

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

43 And it was so—that all the firstborn of the males in the counting of names from one month old and upwards of such as were numbered of them, —were two-and-twenty 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 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying: —

Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

45 Take the Levites, instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites, instead of their cattle, —so shall the Levites belong unto me, me Yahweh;

“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 as the ransom of the two hundred and seventy-three, —who are more than the Levites, of the firstborn of the sons of Israel,

To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites,

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

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

48 and shalt give the silver to Aaron and to his sons, —as the ransom of them that are in excess over them.

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

49 So Moses took the redemption silver from them who were in excess over them who were redeemed by the Levites:

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

50 from the firstborn of the sons of Israel, took he the silver, —a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, by 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 redemption silver to Aaron and to his sons at the bidding of Yahweh, —As Yahweh 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.