Numbers 3

1 And these [are] births of Aaron and Moses, in the day of Jehovah's speaking with Moses in mount Sinai.

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

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

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

3 these [are] the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whose hand he hath consecrated for acting as priest.

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

4 And Nadab dieth — Abihu also — before Jehovah, in their bringing near strange fire before Jehovah, in the wilderness of Sinai, and sons they had not; and Eleazar — Ithamar also — acteth as priest in the presence of Aaron their father.

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.

5 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

6 'Bring near the tribe of Levi, and thou hast caused it to stand before Aaron the priest, and they have served him,

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

7 and kept his charge, and the charge of all the company before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle;

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

8 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 tabernacle;

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.

9 and thou hast given the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are surely given to him out of the sons of Israel.

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

10 'And Aaron and his sons thou dost appoint, and they have kept their priesthood, and the stranger who cometh near is put to death.'

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

11 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

12 'And I, lo, I have taken the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel instead of every first-born opening a womb among the sons of Israel, and the Levites have been Mine;

“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.

13 for Mine [is] every first-born, in the day of My smiting every first-born in the land of Egypt I have sanctified to Myself every first-born in Israel, from man unto beast; Mine they are; I [am] Jehovah.'

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.”

14 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

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

15 'Number the sons of Levi by the house of their fathers, by their families; every male from a son of a month and upward thou dost number them.'

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

16 And Moses numbereth them according to the command of Jehovah, as he hath been commanded.

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

17 And these are sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.

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

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

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

19 And the sons of Kohath, by their families, [are] Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

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

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

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

21 Of Gershon [is] the family of the Libnite, and the family of the Shimite; these are the families of the Gershonite.

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

22 Their numbered ones, in number, every male from a son of a month and upward, their numbered ones [are] seven thousand and five hundred.

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

23 The families of the Gershonite, behind the tabernacle, do encamp westward.

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

24 And the prince of a father's house for the Gershonite [is] Eliasaph son of Lael.

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

25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting [is] the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the vail at the opening of the tent of meeting,

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.

26 and the hangings of the court, and the vail at the opening of the court, which [is] by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and its cords, to all its service.

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.

27 And of Kohath [is] 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.

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.

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

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

29 The families of the sons of Kohath encamp by the side of the tabernacle southward.

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

30 And the prince of a father's house for the families of the Kohathite [is] Elizaphan son of Uzziel.

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

31 And their charge [is] the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary with which they serve, and the vail, and all its service.

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.

32 And [to] the prince of the princes of the Levites, Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, [is] the oversight of the keepers of the charge of the sanctuary.

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.

33 Of Merari [is] the family of the Mahlite, and the family of the Mushite; these [are] the families of Merari.

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

34 And their numbered ones, in number, all the males from a son of a month and upward, [are] six thousand and two hundred.

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

35 And the prince of a father's house for the families of Merari [is] Zuriel son of Abihail; by the side of the tabernacle they encamp northward.

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

36 And the oversight — the charge of the sons of Merari — [is] the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all its vessels, and all its service,

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

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

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

38 And those encamping before the tabernacle 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 cometh near is put to death.

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.

39 All those numbered of the Levites whom Moses numbered — Aaron also — by the command of Jehovah, by their families, every male from a son of a month and upward, [are] two and twenty thousand.

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.

40 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Number every first-born male of the sons of Israel from a son of a month and upward, and take up the number of their names;

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.

41 and thou hast taken the Levites for Me (I [am] Jehovah), instead of every first-born among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of every firstling among the cattle of the sons of Israel.'

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.”

42 And Moses numbereth, as Jehovah hath commanded him, all the first-born among the sons of Israel.

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

43 And all the first-born — male — by the number of names, from a son of a month and upward, of their numbered ones, are two and twenty thousand two hundred and seventy and three.

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

44 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

45 'Take the Levites instead of every first-born among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites have been Mine; I [am] Jehovah.

“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.

46 'And [from] those ransomed of the two hundred and seventy and three (who are more than the Levites) of the first-born of the sons of Israel,

You must collect five shekels for the redemption of each of the 273 firstborn people of Israel who exceed the number of the Levites.

47 thou hast even taken five shekels a-piece by the poll — by the shekel of the sanctuary thou takest; twenty gerahs the shekel [is];

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

48 and thou hast given the money to Aaron, and to his sons, whereby those over and above are ransomed.'

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

49 And Moses taketh the ransom money from those over and above those ransomed by the Levites;

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

50 from the first-born of the sons of Israel he hath taken the money, a thousand and three hundred and sixty and five — by the shekel of the sanctuary;

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

51 and Moses giveth the money of those ransomed to Aaron, and to his sons, according to the command of Jehovah, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

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.