Numbers 3

1 Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day when the word of the Lord came to Moses on Mount Sinai.

These are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai.

2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the oldest, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

And these the names of the sons of Aaron: his firstborn Nadab, then Abiu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.

3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests, on whom the holy oil was put, who were marked out as priests.

These the names of the sons of Aaron the priests that were anointed, and whose hands were filled and consecrated, to do the functions of priesthood.

4 And Nadab and Abihu were put to death before the Lord when they made an offering of strange fire before the Lord, in the waste land of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar did the work of priests before Aaron their father.

Now Nadab and Abiu died, without children, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the desert of Sinai: and Eleazar and Ithamar performed the priestly office in the presence of Aaron their father.

5 And the Lord said to Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

6 Make the tribe of Levi come near, and put them before Aaron the priest, to be his helpers,

Bring the tribe of Levi, and make them stand in the sight of Aaron the priest to minister to him, and let them watch,

7 In order that they may be responsible to him and to all Israel for the care of the Tent of meeting, and to do the work of the House;

And observe whatsoever appertaineth to the service of the multitude before the tabernacle of the testimony,

8 And they will have the care of all the vessels of the Tent of meeting, and will do for the children of Israel all the necessary work of the House.

And let them keep the vessels of the tabernacle, serving in the ministry thereof.

9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; so that they may be his without question from among the children of Israel.

And thou shalt give the Levites for a gift,

10 And give orders that Aaron and his sons are to keep their place as priests; any strange person who comes near is to be put to death.

To Aaron and to his sons, to whom they are delivered by the children of Israel. But thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons over the service of priesthood. The stranger that approacheth to minister, shall be put to death.

11 And the Lord said to Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

12 See, I have taken the Levites out of the children of Israel to be mine in place of the first sons of the children of Israel;

I have taken the Levites from the children of Israel, for every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.

13 For all the first sons are mine; on the day when I put to death all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I took for myself every first male birth of man and beast. They are mine; I am the Lord.

For every firstborn is mine: since I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt: I have sanctified to myself whatsoever is firstborn in Israel both of man and beast, they are mine: I am the Lord.

14 And the Lord said to Moses in the waste land of Sinai,

And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying:

15 Let all the children of Levi be numbered by their families and their fathers' houses; let every male of a month old and over be numbered.

Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and upward.

16 So Moses did as the Lord said, numbering them as he had been ordered.

Moses numbered them as the Lord had commanded.

17 These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.

And there were found sons of Levi by their names, Gerson and Caath and Merari.

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

The sons of Gerson: Lebni and Semei.

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

The sons of Caath: Amram, and Jesaar, Hebron and Oziel:

20 And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites in the order of their fathers' houses.

The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi.

21 From Gershon come the Libnites and the Shimeites; these are the families of the Gershonites.

Of Gerson were two families, the Lebnites, and the Semeites:

22 Those who were numbered of them, the males from one month old and over, were seven thousand, five hundred.

Of which were numbered, people of the male sex from one month and upward, seven thousand five hundred.

23 The tents of the Gershonites are to be placed at the back of the House, to the west.

These shall pitch behind the tabernacle on the west,

24 The chief of the Gershonites is Eliasaph, the son of Lael.

Under their prince Eliasaph the son of Lael.

25 In the Tent of meeting, the Gershonites are to have the care of the House, and the Tent with its cover, and the veil for the door of the Tent of meeting,

And their charge shall be in the tabernacle of the covenant:

26 And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, and all the cords needed for its use.

The tabernacle itself and the cover thereof, the hanging that is drawn before the doors of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the curtains of the court: the hanging also that is hanged in the entry of the court of the tabernacle, and whatsoever belongeth to the rite of the altar, the cords of the tabernacle, and all the furniture thereof.

27 From Kohath come the Amramites and the Izharites and the Hebronites and the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites.

Of the kindred of Caath come the families of the Amramites and Jesaarites and Hebronites and Ozielites. These are the families of the Caathites reckoned up by their names:

28 Those who were numbered of them, the males from one month old and over, were eight thousand, six hundred, who were responsible for the care of the holy place.

All of the male sex from one month and upward, eight thousand six hundred: they shall have the guard of the sanctuary,

29 The tents of the Kohathites are to be placed on the south side of the House.

And shall camp on the south side.

30 Their chief is Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.

And their prince shall be Elisaphan the son of Oziel:

31 In their care are the ark, and the table, and the lights, and the altars, and all the vessels used in the holy place, and the veil, and all they are used for.

And they shall keep the ark, and the table and the candlestick, the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary, wherewith they minister, and the veil, and all the furniture of this kind.

32 Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, will be head over all the Levites and overseer of those responsible for the care of the holy place.

And the prince of the princes of the Levites, Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, shall be over them that watch for the guard of the sanctuary.

33 From Merari come the Mahlites and the Mushites; these are the families of Merari.

And of Merari are the families of the Moholites, and Musites, reckoned up by their names:

34 Those who were numbered of them, the males of a month old and over, were six thousand, two hundred.

All of the male kind from one month and upward, six thousand two hundred.

35 The chief of the families of Merari was Zuriel, the son of Abihail: their tents are to be placed on the north side of the House.

Their prince Suriel the son of Abihaiel: they shall camp on the north side.

36 And in their care are to be all the boards of the Tent, with their rods and pillars and bases, and all the instruments, and all they are used for,

Under their custody shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the pillars and their sockets, and all things that pertain to this kind of service:

37 And the pillars of the open space round it, with their bases and nails and cords.

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

38 And those whose tents are to be placed on the east side of the House in front of the Tent of meeting, looking to the dawn, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, who will do the work of the holy place for the children of Israel; and any strange person who comes near will be put to death.

Before the tabernacle of the covenant, that is to say on the east side, shall Moses and Aaron camp, with their sons, having the custody of the sanctuary, in the midst of the children of Israel. What stranger soever cometh unto it, shall be put to death.

39 All the Levites numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord, all the males of one month old and over numbered in the order of their families, were twenty-two thousand.

All the Levites, that Moses and Aaron numbered according to the precept of the Lord, by their families, of the male kind from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

40 And the Lord said to Moses, Let all the first male children be numbered, and take the number of their names.

And the Lord said to Moses: Number the firstborn of the male sex of the children of Israel, from one month and upward, and thou shalt take the sum of them.

41 And give to me the Levites (I am the Lord) in place of the first sons of the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of the first births among the cattle of the children of Israel.

And thou shalt take the Levites to me for all the firstborn of the children of Israel, I am the Lord: and their cattle for all the firstborn of the cattle of the children of Israel:

42 So Moses had all the first sons among the children of Israel numbered, as the Lord said to him.

Moses reckoned up, as the Lord had commanded, the firstborn of the children of Israel:

43 Every first son from a month old and over was numbered by name, and the number came to twenty-two thousand, two hundred and seventy-three.

And the males by their names, from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

44 And the Lord said to Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saving:

45 Take the Levites in place of all the first sons of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle; the Levites are to be mine; I am the Lord.

Take the Levites for the firstborn of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites for their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.

46 And the price you have to give for the two hundred and seventy-three first sons of the children of Israel which are in addition to the number of the Levites,

But for the price of the two hundred and seventy-three, of the firstborn of the children of Israel, that exceed the number of the Levites,

47 Will be five shekels for every one, by the scale of the holy place (the shekel is twenty gerahs);

Thou shalt take five sides for every head, according to the weight of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols.

48 And this money, the price of those over the number of the Levites, is to be given to Aaron and his sons.

And then shalt give the money to Aaron and his sons, the price of them that are above.

49 So Moses took the money, the price of those whose place had not been taken by the Levites;

Moses therefore took the money of them that were above, and whom they had redeemed from the Levites,

50 From the first sons of Israel he took it, a thousand, three hundred and sixty-five shekels, by the scale of the holy place;

For the firstborn of the children of Israel, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary,

51 And he gave the money to Aaron and his sons, as the Lord had said.

And gave it to Aaron and his sons, according to the word that the Lord had commanded him.