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.

And these [are] the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day in which the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sina.

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

And these [are] the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn; and Abiud, 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 [are] the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests whom they consecrated to the 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.

And Nadab and Abiud died before the Lord, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the wilderness of Sina; and they had no children; and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priests' office with 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,

Take the tribe of Levi, and you shall set them before Aaron the priest, and they shall minister to him,

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 shall keep his charges, and the charges of the children of Israel, before the tabernacle of witness, to do the works of the tabernacle.

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 they shall keep all the furniture of the tabernacle of witness, and the charges of the children of Israel as to all the works of the tabernacle.

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

And you shall give the Levites to Aaron, and to his sons the priests; they are given for a gift to me of the children of Israel.

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.

And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons over the tabernacle of witness; and they shall keep their charge of priesthood, and all things belonging to the altar, and within the veil; and the stranger that touches them shall die.

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;

Behold, I have taken the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, instead of every male that opens the womb from among the children of Israel: they shall be their ransom, 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; in the day in which I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to myself every firstborn in Israel: both of man and beast, they shall be 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 wilderness of Sina, 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.

Take the number of the sons of Levi, according to the houses of their families, according to their divisions; number you them every male from a month old and upwards.

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

And Moses and Aaron numbered them by the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded them.

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

And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gedson, Caath, and Merari.

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

And these [are] the names of the sons of Gedson according to their families; Lobeni and Semei:

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

and the sons of Caath according to their families; Amram and Issaar, Chebron 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.

and the sons of Merari according to their families, Mooli and Musi; these are the families of the Levites according to the houses of their families.

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

To Gedson belongs the family of Lobeni, and the family of Semei: these are the families of Gedson.

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

The numbering of them according to the number of every male from a month old and upwards, their numbering [was] seven thousand and five hundred.

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

And the sons of Gedson shall encamp westward behind the tabernacle.

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

And the ruler of the household of the family of Gedson [was] Elisaph the son of Dael.

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 the charge of the sons of Gedson in the tabernacle of witness [was] the tent and the veil, and the covering of the door of the tabernacle of witness,

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.

and the curtains of the court, and the veil of the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and the remainder of all its works.

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

To Caath [belonged] one division, that of Amram, and another division, that of Issaar, and another division, that of Chebron, and another division, that of Oziel: these are the divisions of Caath, according to number.

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.

Every male from a month old and upward, eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charges of the holy things.

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

The families of the sons of Caath, shall encamp beside the tabernacle toward the south.

30 Their chief is Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.

And the chief of the house of the families of the divisions of Caath, [was] 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 their charge [was] the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and all the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they do holy service, and the veil, and all their works.

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 chief over the chief of the Levites, [was] Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, appointed to keep the charges of the holy things.

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

To Merari [belonged] the family of Mooli, and the family of Musi: these are the families of Merari.

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

The mustering of them according to number, every male from a month old and upwards, [was] six thousand and fifty.

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.

And the head of the house of the families of the division of Merari, was Suriel the son of Abichail: they shall encamp by the side of the tabernacle northwards.

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,

The oversight of the charge of the sons of Merari [included] the chapiters of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all their furniture, and their works,

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, and their bases, and their pins, and 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.

They that encamp before the tabernacle of witness on the east [shall be] Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charges of the sanctuary according to the charges of the children of Israel; and the stranger that touches them, shall die.

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 numbering of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word of the Lord, according to their families, every male from a month old and upwards, [were] two and twenty 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 spoke to Moses, saying, Count every firstborn male of the children of Israel from a month old and upwards, and take the number by name.

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 you shall take the Levites for me—I [am] the Lord—instead of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among 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.

And Moses counted, as the Lord commanded him, every firstborn among 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 all the male firstborn in number by name, from a month old and upwards, were according to their numbering twenty-two thousand and two hundred and seventy-three.

44 And the Lord said to Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

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 instead of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of 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,

And for the ransoms of the two hundred and seventy-three which exceed the Levites in number of the firstborn of the sons of Israel;

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

you shall even take five shekels a head; you shall take them according to the holy didrachm, twenty oboli to the shekel.

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

And you shall give the money to Aaron and to his sons, the ransom of those who exceed in number among them.

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

And Moses took the silver, the ransom of those that exceeded in number the redemption of 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;

He took the silver from the firstborn of the sons of Israel, a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the holy shekel.

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

And Moses gave the ransom of them that were over to Aaron and his sons, by the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.