Numbers 3

1 These also [are] the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day [that] the LORD spoke with Moses in mount Sinai.

These are some of the things that happened to Aaron and Moses/me when Yahweh spoke to Moses/me on Sinai Mountain.

2 And these [are] the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the first-born, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Aaron’s four sons were Nadab the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

3 These [are] the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.

They were appointed [MTY] (OR, Moses/I appointed them) to be priests.

4 And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the sight of Aaron their father.

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.

5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.

“Bring [the men of] the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron, in order that they may assist him.

7 And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.

They will serve Aaron and all the other Israeli people, while they do their work inside the Sacred Tent and outside it.

8 And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

They must serve all the Israeli people by taking care of all the things that are inside the Sacred Tent.

9 And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons: they [are] wholly given to him out of the children of Israel.

Appoint them to [help] Aaron and his two sons. I have chosen them from all the Israeli people to do that.

10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

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.”

11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh also told Moses/me,

12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel, instead of all the first-born that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine;

“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,

13 Because all the first-born [are] mine; [for] on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I hallowed to me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast: mine they shall be: I [am] the LORD.

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.”

14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again in the Sinai Desert. He said,

15 Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.

“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.”

16 And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

So Moses/I counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.

17 And these were the sons of Levi, by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.

Levi had [three] sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

18 And these [are] the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei.

Gershon had [two] sons: Libni and Shimei. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those [two] sons.

19 And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

Kohath had [four] sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those [four] sons.

20 And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi: these [are] the families of the Levites, according to the house of their fathers.

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.

21 Of Gershon [was] the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these [are] the families of the Gershonites.

The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from [his sons] Libni and Shimei.

22 Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, [even] those that were numbered of them, [were] seven thousand and five hundred.

In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old.

23 The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward.

They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent.

24 And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites [shall be] Eliasaph the son of Lael.

The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.

25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation [shall be] the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

Their work was to take care of the Sacred Tent, including the coverings of the tent, the curtain at the entrance of the tent,

26 And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which [is] by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it, for all the service of it.

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.

27 And of Kohath [was] 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.

The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

28 In the number of all the males from a month old and upward, [were] eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.

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.

29 The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.

They set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent.

30 And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites [shall be] Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.

31 And their charge [shall be] the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the hanging, and all the service of it.

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.

32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest [shall be] chief over the chief of the Levites, [and have] the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

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.

33 Of Merari [was] the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these [are] the families of Merari.

The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from [his sons] Mahli and Mushi.

34 And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, [were] six thousand and two hundred.

In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old.

35 And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari [was] Zuriel the son of Abihail: [these] shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.

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.

36 And [under] the custody and charge of the sons of Merari [shall be] the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all its vessels, and all that serveth to it.

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.

37 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.

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].

38 But those that encamp before the tabernacle towards the east, [even] before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward [shall be] Moses and Aaron, and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary, for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

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].

39 All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, [were] twenty and two thousand.

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.

40 And the LORD said to Moses, number all the first-born of the males of the children of Israel, from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.

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.

41 And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I [am] the LORD) instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites, instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.

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.”

42 And Moses numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the first-born among the children of Israel.

So Moses/I did that. He/I counted the firstborn males of all the Israeli people, as Yahweh had commanded.

43 And all the first-born males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and seventy and three.

The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.

44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

45 Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I [am] the LORD.

“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.

46 And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and seventy and three, of the first-born of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites:

There are 273 more firstborn males of the other Israeli people than of the descendants of Levi.

47 Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take [them]: the shekel [is] twenty gerahs.

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.”

48 And thou shalt give to Aaron and to his sons the money, with which the odd number of them is to be redeemed.

49 And Moses took the redemption-money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites:

So Moses/I did that. He/I collected the silver from those 273 males.

50 Of the first-born of the children of Israel he took the money; a thousand three hundred and sixty and five [shekels], after the shekel of the sanctuary.

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.

51 And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed to Aaron, and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Moses/I gave these silver coins to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.