Numbers 3

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

Now, these, were the pedigrees of Aaron and Moses, —in the day when Yahweh spake 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 priests that were anointed, —who were installed to minister as priests.

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.

But Nadab and Abihu died before Yahweh when they brought near strange fire before Yahweh in the desert of Sinai, and sons, had they none, —so then Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests, in the presence of Aaron their father.

5 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying—

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

Bring near the tribe of Levi, and thou shalt cause it to stand before Aaron the priest, —so shall they wait upon 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.

so shall they keep his charge, and the charge of all the assembly, before the tent of meeting, —to do the laborious work of the habitation;

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.

so shall they have charge of all the furniture of the tent of meeting, even the charge of the sons of Israel, —to do the laborious work of the habitation.

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

Thus shalt thou give the Levites unto Aaron and unto his sons, —given, given, they are unto him, from among 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.”

but unto Aaron, and unto his sons, shalt thou give oversight, so shall they keep charge of their priesthood, —and, the stranger who cometh near, shall be put to death.

11 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

Then spake Yahweh unto 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.

I, therefore, lo! I have taken the Levites out of the midst of the sons of Israel, instead of every firstborn that a mother beareth, from among the sons of Israel, —so shall the Levites 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, mine, is every firstborn, in the day when I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto myself every firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast, —mine, did they become, and belong unto me, Yahweh.

14 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. He said,

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, in the desert 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 thou the sons of Levi, by their ancestral houses, by their families, —every male, from one month old and upwards, shalt thou number them.

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

So then Moses numbered them according to the bidding of Yahweh, —as he was commanded.

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

And these were 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, 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 they—the families of the Levites by their ancestral houses.

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

To, Gershon, belonged the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites, —these, are they—the families of the Gershonites.

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

They who were numbered of them in the counting of every male, from one month old, and upwards, —they who were num-bered of them, were seven thousand and five hundred.

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

the families of the Gershonites, to the rear of the habitation, were to encamp, westward.

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

And, the prince of the ancestral house of the Gershonites, was 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, was over the tent of meeting, the habitation, and the tent, —the covering thereof, and the screen for the entrance 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 screen for the entrance of the court which was near the habitation and near the altar, round about, —and the cords thereof, as to all the laborious work thereof.

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 to Kohath, belonged 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 they—the families of the Kohathites.

28 8,600 males have been counted aged one month old and older to take care of the things that belong to Yahweh.

In, the counting of every male, from one month old and upwards, there were eight thousand and six hundred, to keep the charge of the sanctuary.

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

The, families of the sons of Kohath, were to encamp, —on the side of the habitation, south-ward.

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

And the prince of the ancestral house of the families of the Kohathites, was 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, was—the ark and the table and the lampstand and the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary wherewith they were to minister, —and the screen, as to all the laborious work thereof.

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 prince of the princes of the Levites, was Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, —to have the oversight of them that were to keep the charge of the sanctuary.

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 the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites, —these, are they—the families of Merari.

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

And they who were numbered of them in the counting of every male, from one month old and upwards, were 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 the ancestral house of the families of Merari, was Zuriel son of Abihail, —on the side of the habitation, were they to encamp northward.

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 of the charge of the sons of Merari, was—the boards of the habitation, and the bars thereof and the pillars thereof and the sockets thereof, —and all the furniture thereof, as to all the laborious work thereof;

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

also the pillars of the court round about 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.

But, they who were to encamp before the habitation eastwards before the tent of meeting, towards sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons. to keep the charge of the sanctuary, as the charge of the sons of Israel and, the stranger that came near, was to be 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 they who were numbered of the Levites whom Moses [and Aaron] numbered at the bidding of Yahweh by their families, —every male, from one 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 Yahweh said unto Moses: Number thou every firstborn male belonging to the sons of Israel, from one month old and upwards, —and reckon 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.”

then shalt thou take the Levites for me, me Yahweh, instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel, —also the cattle of the Levites, instead of every firstling among the cattle of the sons of Israel.

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

So then Moses numbered, as Yahweh commanded him, —every 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 it was so—that all the firstborn of the males in the counting of names from one month old and upwards of such as were numbered of them, —were two-and-twenty thousand, two hundred and seventy-three.

44 Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

Then spake Yahweh unto 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 among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites, instead of their cattle, —so shall the Levites belong unto me, me Yahweh;

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 as the ransom of the two hundred and seventy-three, —who are more than the Levites, 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.

thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll, —by the shekel of the sanctuary, shalt thou take it, twenty gerahs to the shekel;

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

and shalt give the silver to Aaron and to his sons, —as the ransom of them that are in excess over them.

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

So Moses took the redemption silver from them who were in excess over them who were redeemed 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.

from the firstborn of the sons of Israel, took he the silver, —a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary,

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 redemption silver to Aaron and to his sons at the bidding of Yahweh, —As Yahweh commanded Moses.