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.
These are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day when the Lord spoke to Moses on mount Sinai.
2 Aaron’s four sons were Nadab the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: his firstborn Nadab, then Abihu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 They were appointed [MTY] (OR, Moses/I appointed them) to be priests.
These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed and whose hands were filled and consecrated in order to exercise the priesthood.
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.
For Nadab and Abihu died without children, when they offered, in the sight of the Lord, a strange fire, in the desert of Sinai. And so, Eleazar and Ithamar exercised the priesthood in the sight of Aaron, their father.
5 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
6 “Bring [the men of] the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron, in order that they may assist him.
“Bring forward the tribe of Levi, and cause them to stand in the sight of Aaron the priest, in order to minister to him. And let them keep watch outside,
7 They will serve Aaron and all the other Israeli people, while they do their work inside the Sacred Tent and outside it.
and let them observe whatever pertains to the ritual for the multitude, in front of the tabernacle of the testimony,
8 They must serve all the Israeli people by taking care of all the things that are inside the Sacred Tent.
and let them take care of the vessels of the tabernacle, serving in its ministry.
9 Appoint them to [help] Aaron and his two sons. I have chosen them from all the Israeli people to do that.
And you shall give the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons; for they have been delivered to them by the sons of Israel.
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.”
But you shall appoint Aaron and his sons over the service of the priesthood. The outsider who approaches to minister shall be put to death.”
11 Yahweh also told Moses/me,
And 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,
“I have taken the Levites from the sons of Israel. For the Levites, and all the firstborn who open the womb among the sons of Israel, shall be mine.
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 every firstborn is mine. From the time that I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified for myself whatever is born first in Israel. From man, even to beast, they are mine. I am the Lord.”
14 Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again in the Sinai Desert. He said,
And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert 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 sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and above.”
16 So Moses/I counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.
Moses numbered them, just as the Lord had instructed,
17 Levi had [three] sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
and there were found the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and 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.
The sons of Gershon: 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: Amram, and 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.
The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.
21 The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from [his sons] Libni and Shimei.
From Gershon were two families: the Libnites, and the Shimeites.
22 In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old.
The people of these were numbered, of the male sex, from one month and above: seven thousand five hundred.
23 They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent.
These shall encamp behind the tabernacle, toward the west,
24 The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.
under the leader Eliasaph the 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,
And they shall keep watch over the tabernacle of the covenant:
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 tabernacle itself, and its covering; the tent that is drawn before the doors of the covering of the covenant; and the curtains of the atrium; likewise, the tent that is suspended at the entrance of the atrium of the tabernacle; and whatever pertains to the ritual of the altar; the cords of the tabernacle and all its implements.
27 The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
The kinship of Kohath includes the peoples of the Amramites and Izharites and Hebronites and Uzzielites. These are the families of the Kohathites, having been counted by their names,
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.
all those of the male gender, from one month and above: eight thousand six hundred. They shall keep watch over the Sanctuary,
29 They set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent.
and they shall encamp toward the south side.
30 The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.
And their leader shall be Elisaphan the 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.
And they shall take care of the ark, and the table and the lampstand, the altars and the vessels of the Sanctuary, by which they minister, and the veil, and all the articles of this kind.
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.
But the leader of the leaders of the Levites, Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, shall be over those who watch over the care of the Sanctuary.
33 The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from [his sons] Mahli and Mushi.
And truly, from Merari are the peoples of the Mahlites and Mushites, having been counted by their names,
34 In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old.
all those of the male gender, from one month and above: six thousand two hundred.
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.
Their leader is Suriel the son of Abihaiel. They shall make camp on the north side.
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.
Under their care shall be the panels of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the columns with their bases, and all the things which pertain to service of this kind,
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].
and the columns of the surrounding atrium with their bases, and the tent pegs with their cords.
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 and Aaron, with their sons, shall make camp before the tabernacle of the covenant, that is, on the east side, holding the custody of the Sanctuary in the midst of the sons of Israel. Whatever foreigner approaches it shall die.
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.
All the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by their families according to the precept of the Lord, of the male gender, from one month and above, were twenty-two thousand.
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.
And the Lord said to Moses: “Number the firstborn of the male sex from the sons of Israel, from one month and above, and you shall take their total.
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.”
And you shall bring the Levites to me, in place of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and you shall bring their cattle to me, in place of all the firstborn of the cattle of the sons of Israel. I am the Lord.”
42 So Moses/I did that. He/I counted the firstborn males of all the Israeli people, as Yahweh had commanded.
Moses took a census, just as the Lord had instructed, of the firstborn of the sons of Israel.
43 The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.
And the males by their names, from one month and above, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.
44 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And 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 the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites, in place of their cattle, and so the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.
46 There are 273 more firstborn males of the other Israeli people than of the descendants of Levi.
But for the price of the two hundred and seventy-three, which exceed the number of the Levites compared to the number of firstborn of the sons of Israel,
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 shall take five shekels for each head, by the measure of the Sanctuary. A shekel has twenty obols.
And you shall give the money to Aaron and his sons as the price of those that are in excess.”
49 So Moses/I did that. He/I collected the silver from those 273 males.
Therefore, Moses took the money for those that were in excess, and whom they had redeemed from 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.
in place of the firstborn of the sons of Israel: one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, according to the weight of the Sanctuary.
51 Moses/I gave these silver coins to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.
And he gave it to Aaron and his sons, according to the word by which the Lord had instructed him.
