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.
And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Jehovah spoke with 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: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, 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 anointed priests, who were consecrated 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.
And Nadab and Abihu died before Jehovah when they offered strange fire before Jehovah in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons; and Eleazar and Ithamar exercised the priesthood in the presence of Aaron their father.
5 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And Jehovah 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 the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him;
7 They will serve Aaron and all the other Israeli people, while they do their work inside the Sacred Tent and outside it.
and they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole assembly, before the tent of meeting, to do 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.
And they shall keep all the utensils of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do 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.
And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given to him out of the children 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.”
And Aaron and his sons shalt thou appoint that they may attend to their priest's office; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death.
11 Yahweh also told Moses/me,
And Jehovah 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,
And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that breaketh open the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites 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. On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be: I am Jehovah.
14 Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again in the Sinai Desert. He said,
And Jehovah 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 sons of Levi according to their fathers' houses, after their families; every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.
16 So Moses/I counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.
And Moses numbered them, according to the commandment of Jehovah, — as he had been commanded.
17 Levi had [three] sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
And these are 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.
And these are the names of the sons of Gershon according to their families: 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.
And the sons of Kohath according to their families: 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.
And the sons of Merari according to their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers' houses.
21 The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from [his sons] Libni and Shimei.
Of Gershon, the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.
22 In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old.
Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, those that were numbered of them were seven thousand five hundred.
23 They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent.
The families of the Gershonites encamped behind the tabernacle westward.
24 The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.
And the prince of the father's house of the Gershonites was 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 the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was: the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain of 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.
And the hangings of the court, and the curtain of the entrance to the court, which surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the cords thereof for all its service.
27 The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
And of Kohath, 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.
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.
According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, who kept the charge of the sanctuary.
29 They set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent.
The families of the sons of Kohath encamped on the side of the tabernacle southward.
30 The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.
And the prince of the father's house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan 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 their charge was the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, and the curtain, and all that belongs to its service.
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.
And the prince of princes of the Levites was Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest: he had the oversight of them that kept the charge of the sanctuary.
33 The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from [his sons] Mahli and Mushi.
Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.
34 In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old.
And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were 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.
And the prince of the father's house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They encamped on the side of the tabernacle northward.
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.
And the charge of the sons of Merari consisted in the oversight of the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its bases, and all its furniture, and all that belongs to its service,
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 pillars of the court round about, and their bases, and their pegs, and 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].
And those who encamped before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, were Moses, and Aaron and his sons, who kept the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh near shall 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.
All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of Jehovah, according to their families, all the males from a month old and upward, 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 Jehovah said to Moses, Number all the first-born males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of 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.”
And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am Jehovah) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites, instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.
42 So Moses/I did that. He/I counted the firstborn males of all the Israeli people, as Yahweh had commanded.
And Moses numbered, as Jehovah had commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
43 The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.
And all the firstborn males, by the number of the names, from a month old and upward, according to their numbering, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.
44 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And Jehovah 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 instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am Jehovah.
46 There are 273 more firstborn males of the other Israeli people than of the descendants of Levi.
And for those that are to be ransomed, the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are in excess over 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.”
thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll, according to the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them, — twenty gerahs the shekel;
and thou shalt give the money unto Aaron and unto his sons for those in excess among them who are to be ransomed.
49 So Moses/I did that. He/I collected the silver from those 273 males.
And Moses took the ransom-money from them that were over and above those who were ransomed 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.
of the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, a thousand three hundred and sixty-five [shekels], according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
51 Moses/I gave these silver coins to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.
And Moses gave the money of them that were ransomed to Aaron and to his sons, according to the commandment of Jehovah, — as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
