Numbers 3
1 These are some of the things that happened to Aaron and Moses/me when Yahweh spoke to Moses/me on Sinai Mountain.
This is the account of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 Aaron’s four sons were Nadab the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, then Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 They were appointed [MTY] (OR, Moses/I appointed them) to be priests.
These were Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests.
4 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.
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 Yahweh said to Moses/me,
Then the LORD said to Moses,
6 “Bring [the men of] the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron, in order that they may assist him.
“Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.
7 They will serve Aaron and all the other Israeli people, while they do their work inside the Sacred Tent and outside it.
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 They must serve all the Israeli people by taking care of all the things that are inside the Sacred Tent.
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 Appoint them to [help] Aaron and his two sons. I have chosen them from all the Israeli people to do that.
Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been given exclusively to him from among the Israelites.
10 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.”
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 Yahweh also told Moses/me,
Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
12 “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,
“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 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.”
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 Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again in the Sinai Desert. He said,
Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15 “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.”
“Number the Levites by their families and clans. You are to count every male a month old or more.”
16 So Moses/I counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.
So Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he had been commanded.
17 Levi had [three] sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 Gershon had [two] sons: Libni and Shimei. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those [two] sons.
These were the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei.
19 Kohath had [four] sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those [four] sons.
The sons of Kohath by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 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.
And the sons of Merari by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites, according to their families.
21 The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from [his sons] Libni and Shimei.
From Gershon came the Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan; these were the Gershonite clans.
22 In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old.
The number of all the males a month old or more was 7,500.
23 They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent.
The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle,
24 The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.
and the leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael.
25 Their work was to take care of the Sacred Tent, including the coverings of the tent, the curtain at the entrance of the tent,
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 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.
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 The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
From Kohath came the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites.
28 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.
The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. They were responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.
29 They set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent.
The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,
30 The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.
and the leader of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.
31 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.
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 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.
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 The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from [his sons] Mahli and Mushi.
From Merari came the clans of the Mahlites and Mushites; these were the Merarite clans.
34 In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old.
The number of all the males a month old or more was 6,200.
35 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.
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 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.
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 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].
as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
38 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].
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 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.
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 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.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the Israelites a month old or more, and list their names.
41 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.”
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 Moses/I did that. He/I counted the firstborn males of all the Israeli people, as Yahweh had commanded.
So Moses numbered all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the LORD had commanded him.
43 The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.
The total number of the firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.
44 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
45 “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.
“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 There are 273 more firstborn males of the other Israeli people than of the descendants of Levi.
To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites,
47 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.”
you are to collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs.
Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the excess among the Israelites.”
49 So Moses/I did that. He/I collected the silver from those 273 males.
So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the number redeemed by the Levites.
50 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.
He collected the money from the firstborn of the Israelites: 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.
51 Moses/I gave these silver coins to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.
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.
