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 in which the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sina.
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 Abiud, 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 whom they consecrated to 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 Abiud died before the Lord, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the wilderness of Sina; and they had no children; and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priests' office with 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.
Take the tribe of Levi, and you shall set them before Aaron the priest, and they shall minister to 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 shall keep his charges, and the charges of the children of Israel, before the tabernacle of witness, to do the works 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 furniture of the tabernacle of witness, and the charges of the children of Israel as to all the works 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 you shall give the Levites to Aaron, and to his sons the priests; they are given for a gift to me 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 you shall appoint Aaron and his sons over the tabernacle of witness; and they shall keep their charge of priesthood, and all things belonging to the altar, and within the veil; and the stranger that touches them shall die.
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,
Behold, I have taken the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, instead of every male that opens the womb from among the children of Israel: they shall be their ransom, 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; in the day in which I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to myself every firstborn in Israel: both of man and beast, they shall be 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 wilderness of Sina, 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.”
Take the number of the sons of Levi, according to the houses of their families, according to their divisions; number you them every male from a month old and upwards.
16 So Moses/I counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.
And Moses and Aaron numbered them by the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded them.
17 Levi had [three] sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gedson, Caath, 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 Gedson according to their families; Lobeni and Semei:
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 Caath according to their families; Amram and Issaar, Chebron and Oziel:
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, Mooli and Musi; these are the families of the Levites according to the houses of their families.
21 The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from [his sons] Libni and Shimei.
To Gedson belongs the family of Lobeni, and the family of Semei: these are the families of Gedson.
22 In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old.
The numbering of them according to the number of every male from a month old and upwards, their numbering [was] seven thousand and five hundred.
23 They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent.
And the sons of Gedson shall encamp westward behind the tabernacle.
24 The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.
And the ruler of the household of the family of Gedson [was] Elisaph the son of Dael.
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 Gedson in the tabernacle of witness [was] the tent and the veil, and the covering of the door of the tabernacle of witness,
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 curtains of the court, and the veil of the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and the remainder of all its works.
27 The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
To Caath [belonged] one division, that of Amram, and another division, that of Issaar, and another division, that of Chebron, and another division, that of Oziel: these are the divisions of Caath, according to number.
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.
Every male from a month old and upward, eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charges of the holy things.
29 They set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent.
The families of the sons of Caath, shall encamp beside the tabernacle toward the south.
30 The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.
And the chief of the house of the families of the divisions of Caath, [was] Elisaphan the son of Oziel.
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 all the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they do holy service, and the veil, and all their works.
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 chief over the chief of the Levites, [was] Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, appointed to keep the charges of the holy things.
33 The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from [his sons] Mahli and Mushi.
To Merari [belonged] the family of Mooli, and the family of Musi: these are the families of Merari.
34 In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old.
The mustering of them according to number, every male from a month old and upwards, [was] six thousand and fifty.
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 head of the house of the families of the division of Merari, was Suriel the son of Abichail: they shall encamp by the side of the tabernacle northwards.
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 oversight of the charge of the sons of Merari [included] the chapiters of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all their furniture, and their works,
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 pins, 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].
They that encamp before the tabernacle of witness on the east [shall be] Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charges of the sanctuary according to the charges of the children of Israel; and the stranger that touches them, 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 numbering of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word of the Lord, according to their families, every male from a month old and upwards, [were] two and twenty 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 spoke to Moses, saying, Count every firstborn male of the children of Israel from a month old and upwards, and take the number by name.
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 take the Levites for me—I [am] the Lord—instead of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn 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 counted, as the Lord commanded him, every firstborn among the children of Israel.
43 The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.
And all the male firstborn in number by name, from a month old and upwards, were according to their numbering twenty-two thousand and two hundred and 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 instead of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle, and 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.
And for the ransoms of the two hundred and seventy-three which exceed the Levites in number of the 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 even take five shekels a head; you shall take them according to the holy didrachm, twenty oboli to the shekel.
And you shall give the money to Aaron and to his sons, the ransom of those who exceed in number among them.
49 So Moses/I did that. He/I collected the silver from those 273 males.
And Moses took the silver, the ransom of those that exceeded in number the redemption of 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 took the silver from the firstborn of the sons of Israel, a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the holy shekel.
51 Moses/I gave these silver coins to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.
And Moses gave the ransom of them that were over to Aaron and his sons, by the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
