Numbers 3

1 Now this is the history of the descendants of Aaron and Moses when Yahweh spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

And these [are] the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day in which the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sina.

2 The names of Aaron's sons were Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

And these [are] the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn; and Abiud, Eleazar and Ithamar.

3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed and who were ordained to serve as priests.

These [are] the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests whom they consecrated to the priesthood.

4 But Nadab and Abihu fell dead before Yahweh when they offered to him unacceptable fire in the wilderness of Sinai. Nadab and Abihu had no children, so just Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests with Aaron their father.

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 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

6 “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest for them to help him.

Take the tribe of Levi, and you shall set them before Aaron the priest, and they shall minister to him,

7 They must perform the duties on behalf of Aaron and the whole community before the tent of meeting. They must serve in the tabernacle.

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 care for all the furnishings in the tent of meeting, and they must help the tribes of Israel to carry out the tabernacle service.

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 You must give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They are wholly given to help him serve the people of Israel.

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 You must appoint Aaron and his sons as priests, but any foreigner who comes near must be put to death.”

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 spoke to Moses. He said,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

12 “Look, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel. I have done this instead of taking each firstborn male who is born among the people of Israel. The Levites 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 All the firstborn belong to me. On the day that I attacked all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both people and animals. They belong to me. I am 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 in the wilderness of Sinai. He said,

And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sina, saying,

15 “Count the descendants of Levi in each family, in their clans. Count every male who is one month old and older.”

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 Moses counted them, following the word of Yahweh, just as he was commanded to do.

And Moses and Aaron numbered them by the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded them.

17 The names of Levi's sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gedson, Caath, and Merari.

18 The clans coming from Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei.

And these [are] the names of the sons of Gedson according to their families; Lobeni and Semei:

19 The clans coming from Kohath's sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

and the sons of Caath according to their families; Amram and Issaar, Chebron and Oziel:

20 The clans coming from Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, listed clan by clan.

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 clans of the Libnites and the Shimeites come from Gershon. These are the clans of the Gershonites.

To Gedson belongs the family of Lobeni, and the family of Semei: these are the families of Gedson.

22 All the males from a month old and older were counted, totaling 7,500.

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 The clans of the Gershonites must camp on the west side of the tabernacle.

And the sons of Gedson shall encamp westward behind the tabernacle.

24 Eliasaph son of Lael must lead the clans of the descendants of the Gershonites.

And the ruler of the household of the family of Gedson [was] Elisaph the son of Dael.

25 The family of Gershon must care for the tent of meeting including the tabernacle. They must care for the tent, its covering, and the curtain used as the entrance to the tent of meeting.

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 They must care for the courtyard hangings, the curtain at the courtyard entrance—the courtyard that surrounds the sanctuary and the altar. They must care for the ropes of the tent of meeting and for everything in it.

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 These clans come from Kohath: the clan of the Amramites, the clan of the Izharites, the clan of the Hebronites, and the clan of the Uzzielites. These clans belong to the Kohathites.

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 8,600 males have been counted aged one month old and older to take care of the things that belong to Yahweh.

Every male from a month old and upward, eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charges of the holy things.

29 The Kohath clans must camp on the south side of the tabernacle.

The families of the sons of Caath, shall encamp beside the tabernacle toward the south.

30 Elizaphan son of Uzziel must lead the clans of the Kohathites.

And the chief of the house of the families of the divisions of Caath, [was] Elisaphan the son of Oziel.

31 They must care for the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the holy things that are used in their service, the curtain, and all the work around it.

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 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest must lead the men who lead the Levites. He must supervise the men who care for the holy place.

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 Two clans have come from Merari: the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites. These clans have come from Merari.

To Merari [belonged] the family of Mooli, and the family of Musi: these are the families of Merari.

34 6,200 males have been counted aged one month old and older.

The mustering of them according to number, every male from a month old and upwards, [was] six thousand and fifty.

35 Zuriel son of Abihail must lead the clans of Merari. They must camp on the north side of the tabernacle.

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 descendants of Merari must care for the framing of the tabernacle, the crossbars, posts, bases, all the hardware, and everything related to them, including

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 the pillars and posts of the courtyard that surround the tabernacle, with their sockets, pegs, and ropes.

and the pillars of the court round about, and their bases, and their pins, and their cords.

38 Moses and Aaron and his sons must camp on the east side of the tabernacle, in front of the tent of meeting, toward the sunrise. They are responsible for the fulfillment of the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the people of Israel. Any foreigner who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death.

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 Moses and Aaron counted all the males in the clans of Levi who were aged one month old and older, just as Yahweh commanded. They counted twenty-two thousand men.

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 Yahweh said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn males of the people of Israel who are aged one month old and older. List 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 You must take the Levites for me—I am Yahweh—instead of all the firstborn of the people of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of the firstborn of the livestock of the descendants of Israel.”

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 Moses counted all the firstborn people of Israel as Yahweh had commanded him to do.

And Moses counted, as the Lord commanded him, every firstborn among the children of Israel.

43 He counted all the firstborn males by name, aged one month old and older. He counted 22,273 men.

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 Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and take the Levites' livestock instead of the people's livestock. The Levites belong to me—I am 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 You must collect five shekels for the redemption of each of the 273 firstborn people of Israel who exceed the number of the Levites.

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 You must use the shekel of the sanctuary as your standard weight. The shekel equals twenty gerahs.

you shall even take five shekels a head; you shall take them according to the holy didrachm, twenty oboli to the shekel.

48 You must give the price of redemption that you paid to Aaron and his sons.”

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 collected the payment of redemption from those who exceeded the number of those redeemed by the Levites.

And Moses took the silver, the ransom of those that exceeded in number the redemption of the Levites.

50 Moses collected the money from the firstborn of the people of Israel. He collected 1,365 shekels, weighing with the shekel of the sanctuary.

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 gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons. Moses did everything he was told to do by Yahweh's word, as Yahweh had commanded him.

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.