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 of YHWH’s speaking with Moses in Mount Sinai.
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: the firstborn Nadab, and Abihu, 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, whose hand he has consecrated for acting as priest.
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 dies—Abihu also—before YHWH, in their bringing strange fire near before YHWH, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they did not have sons; and Eleazar—Ithamar also—acts as priest in the presence of their father Aaron.
5 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,
And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
6 “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest for them to help him.
“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and you have caused it to stand before Aaron the priest, and they have served 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 kept his charge, and the charge of all the congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the Dwelling Place;
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 have kept all the vessels of the Tent of Meeting, and the charge of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the Dwelling Place;
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 have given the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are surely given to him out of the sons 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 appoint Aaron and his sons, and they have kept their priesthood, and the stranger who comes near is put to death.”
11 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,
And YHWH speaks 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.
“And I, behold, have taken the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn opening a womb among the sons of Israel, and the Levites have been 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 of My striking every firstborn in the land of Egypt I have sanctified to Myself every firstborn in Israel, from man to beast; they are Mine; I [am] YHWH.”
14 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. He said,
And YHWH speaks to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15 “Count the descendants of Levi in each family, in their clans. Count every male who is one month old and older.”
“Number the sons of Levi by the house of their fathers, by their families; every male from a son of a month and upward—you number them.”
16 Moses counted them, following the word of Yahweh, just as he was commanded to do.
And Moses numbers them according to the command of YHWH, as he has been commanded.
17 The names of Levi's sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
And these are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.
18 The clans coming from Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei.
And these [are] the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.
19 The clans coming from Kohath's sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
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 by their families: Mahli and Mushi; these are the families of the Levites, by the house of their fathers.
21 The clans of the Libnites and the Shimeites come from Gershon. These are the clans of the Gershonites.
Of Gershon—the family of the Libnite and the family of the Shimite; these are the families of the Gershonite.
22 All the males from a month old and older were counted, totaling 7,500.
Their numbered ones, in number, every male from a son of a month and upward, their numbered ones [are] seven thousand and five hundred.
23 The clans of the Gershonites must camp on the west side of the tabernacle.
The families of the Gershonite encamp westward behind the Dwelling Place.
24 Eliasaph son of Lael must lead the clans of the descendants of the Gershonites.
And the prince of a father’s house for the Gershonite [is] Eliasaph son of Lael.
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 Gershon in the Tent of Meeting [is] the Dwelling Place, and the tent, its covering, and the veil at the opening of the Tent of Meeting,
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 hangings of the court, and the veil at the opening of the court, which [is] by the Dwelling Place and by the altar all around, and its cords, to all its service.
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.
And of Kohath—the family of the Amramite, and the family of the Izharite, and the family of the Hebronite, and the family of the Uzzielite; these are families of the Kohathite.
28 8,600 males have been counted aged one month old and older to take care of the things that belong to Yahweh.
In number, all the males, from a son of a month and upward, [are] eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the holy place.
29 The Kohath clans must camp on the south side of the tabernacle.
The families of the sons of Kohath encamp southward by the side of the Dwelling Place.
30 Elizaphan son of Uzziel must lead the clans of the Kohathites.
And the prince of a father’s house for the families of the Kohathite [is] Elizaphan son of Uzziel.
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 [is] the Ark, and the table, and the lampstand, and the altars, and the vessels of the holy place with which they serve, and the veil, and all its service.
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 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest [is] the prince of the princes of the Levites, [with] the oversight of the keepers of the charge of the holy place.
33 Two clans have come from Merari: the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites. These clans have come from Merari.
Of Merari—the family of the Mahlite and the family of the Mushite; these [are] the families of Merari.
34 6,200 males have been counted aged one month old and older.
And their numbered ones, in number, all the males from a son of a month and upward, [are] six thousand and two hundred.
35 Zuriel son of Abihail must lead the clans of Merari. They must camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
And the prince of a father’s house for the families of Merari [is] Zuriel son of Abihail; they encamp northward by the side of the Dwelling Place.
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
And the oversight [and] charge of the sons of Merari [are] the boards of the Dwelling Place, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all its vessels, and all its service,
37 the pillars and posts of the courtyard that surround the tabernacle, with their sockets, pegs, and ropes.
and the pillars of the court all around, and their sockets, 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.
And those encamping before the Dwelling Place eastward, before the Tent of Meeting, at the east, [are] Moses and Aaron, and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the sons of Israel, and the stranger who comes near is put to death.
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 those numbered of the Levites whom Moses numbered—Aaron also—by the command of YHWH, by their families, every male from a son of a month and upward, [are] twenty-two 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 YHWH says to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a son of a month and upward, and take up the number of their names;
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 have taken the Levites for Me (I [am] YHWH), instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of every firstling among the livestock of the sons of Israel.”
42 Moses counted all the firstborn people of Israel as Yahweh had commanded him to do.
And Moses numbers, as YHWH has commanded him, all the firstborn among the sons of Israel.
43 He counted all the firstborn males by name, aged one month old and older. He counted 22,273 men.
And every firstborn male, by the number of names, from a son of a month and upward, of their numbered ones, are twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.
44 Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,
And YHWH speaks 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 every firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock; and the Levites have been Mine; I [am] YHWH.
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 [from] those ransomed of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the sons of Israel, who are more than the Levites,
47 You must use the shekel of the sanctuary as your standard weight. The shekel equals twenty gerahs.
you have even taken five shekels apiece by the counted head—you take by the shekel of the holy place; the shekel [is] twenty gerahs;
48 You must give the price of redemption that you paid to Aaron and his sons.”
and you have given the money to Aaron and to his sons, whereby those over and above are ransomed.”
49 So Moses collected the payment of redemption from those who exceeded the number of those redeemed by the Levites.
And Moses takes the ransom money from those over and above those ransomed by 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 has taken the money from the firstborn of the sons of Israel—one thousand and three hundred and sixty-five, by the shekel of the holy place;
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 gives the money of those ransomed to Aaron and to his sons, according to the command of YHWH, as YHWH has commanded Moses.
