Numbers 3
1 These are some of the things that happened to Aaron and Moses/me when Yahweh spoke to Moses/me on Sinai Mountain.
This is the account concerning Aaron and Moses when the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 Aaron’s four sons were Nadab the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
The names of the sons of Aaron were: Nadab (firstborn), Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 They were appointed [MTY] (OR, Moses/I appointed them) to be priests.
These were the names of Aaron's sons who were anointed and ordained to serve as priests.
4 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.
Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord's presence when they offered forbidden fire before the Lord in the Sinai desert. Since they didn't have any sons, Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests while their father Aaron was alive.
5 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
The Lord told Moses,
6 “Bring [the men of] the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron, in order that they may assist him.
“Gather the tribe of Levi together and present them to Aaron the priest to help him with the ministry.
7 They will serve Aaron and all the other Israeli people, while they do their work inside the Sacred Tent and outside it.
They are to carry out duties on his behalf and for all the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting, looking after the service of the Tabernacle.
8 They must serve all the Israeli people by taking care of all the things that are inside the Sacred Tent.
They are responsible for caring for all the furniture of the Tent of Meeting, serving the Israelites through what they do in the Tabernacle.
9 Appoint them to [help] Aaron and his two sons. I have chosen them from all the Israeli people to do that.
The Levites are to work exclusively for Aaron and his sons of because this is their assignment among the Israelites.
10 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.”
You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to have the responsibility of the priesthood. Anyone else who tries to act as a priest must be executed.”
11 Yahweh also told Moses/me,
The Lord told Moses,
12 “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,
“I've taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every one of their firstborn. The Levites belong to me
13 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.”
because all the firstborn are mine. When I killed every firstborn in Egypt I set apart as holy to me all the firstborn of Israel, human and animal. They are mine. I am the Lord.”
14 Yahweh spoke to Moses/me again in the Sinai Desert. He said,
The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert. He told him,
15 “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.”
“Register the Levites by their father's line and family. Count every male aged one month or older.”
16 So Moses/I counted them, just as Yahweh commanded.
So Moses registered them following the Lord's instructions, just as he had been told.
17 Levi had [three] sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
These were the names of Levi's sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 Gershon had [two] sons: Libni and Shimei. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those [two] sons.
These were the names of the Gershon's sons by family: Libni and Shimei.
19 Kohath had [four] sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The clans that were descended from them had the same names as those [four] sons.
Kohath's sons by family were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 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.
Merari's sons by family were Mahli and Mushi. These were the families of the Levites, according to their father's line.
21 The two clans descended from Gershon are those that were descended from [his sons] Libni and Shimei.
The family of Libni and the family of Shimei came from Gershon. These were the families of Gershon.
22 In those two clans there were 7,500 males who were at least one month old.
The total of all males aged one month or older was 7,500.
23 They were told to set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent.
The camp of families of Gerson was to the west, behind the Tabernacle.
24 The leader of those two clans was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.
The leader of the Gershon families was Eliasaph, son of Lael.
25 Their work was to take care of the Sacred Tent, including the coverings of the tent, the curtain at the entrance of the tent,
Their assigned responsibility for the Tent of Meeting was to take care of the Tabernacle and tent, its covering, the curtain at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting,
26 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.
the courtyard curtains, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the Tabernacle and altar, the ropes, and everything connected with their use.
27 The clans that were descended from Kohath were those descended from his four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
The families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel came from Kohath. These were the families of Kohath.
28 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.
The total of all males aged one month or older was 8,600. Their assigned responsibility was to take care of the sanctuary.
29 They set up their tents on the south side of the Sacred Tent.
The camp of families of Kohath was on the south side of the Tabernacle.
30 The leader of those four clans was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.
The leader of the Kohath families was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.
31 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.
Their assigned responsibility was to care for the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used with them, the veil, and everything connected with these items.
32 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.
The chief of the leaders of the Levites was Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest. He was in charge of those responsible for serving in the sanctuary.
33 The clans that were descended from Merari were those descended from [his sons] Mahli and Mushi.
The family of Mahli and the family of Mushi came from Merari. These were the families of Merari.
34 In those two clans there were 6,200 males who were at least one month old.
The total of all males aged one month or older was 6,200.
35 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.
The leader of the Merari families was Zuriel, son of Abihail. Their camp was on the north side of the Tabernacle.
36 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.
Their assigned responsibility was to take care of the Tabernacle's frames, crossbars, posts, stands, all its equipment, and everything connected with their use,
37 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].
as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their stands, tent pegs, and ropes.
38 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].
The camp of Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons was to the east of the Tabernacle, in the direction of the sunrise, in front of the Tent of Meeting. They were responsible for the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who tried to act as a priest was to be executed.
39 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.
The sum total of Levites registered by Moses and Aaron as the Lord ordered was 22,000. This included all males aged one month or older.
40 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.
The Lord told Moses, “Conduct a census of all the firstborn Israelite males aged one month or older, and register their names.
41 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.”
Assign the Levites to me. I am the Lord. They are in place of all of the Israelites' firstborn children. The livestock of the Levites are in place of all the Israelites' firstborn livestock.”
42 So Moses/I did that. He/I counted the firstborn males of all the Israeli people, as Yahweh had commanded.
Moses conducted a census of all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord had instructed him.
43 The total of those who were at least one month old was 22,273.
The sum total of the firstborn males a month old or more, registered by name, was 22,273.
44 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
The Lord spoke to Moses and told him,
45 “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.
“You are to take the Levites in place of all the firstborn children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock, because the Levites belong to me. I am the Lord.
46 There are 273 more firstborn males of the other Israeli people than of the descendants of Levi.
In order to buy back the 273 firstborn Israelites who are more than the number of Levites,
47 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.”
collect five shekels for each of them, (using the sanctuary shekel standard of twenty gerahs).
He handed the money over to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the extra Israelites.”
49 So Moses/I did that. He/I collected the silver from those 273 males.
Moses collected the redemption money for those extra Israelites that were more than the number redeemed by the Levites.
50 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.
He collected the money given on behalf of the Israelites' firstborn children. It came to 1,365 shekels, (using the sanctuary shekel standard).
51 Moses/I gave these silver coins to Aaron and his sons, as Yahweh had commanded.
Moses gave this redemption money to Aaron and his sons as the Lord had told him to, following the Lord's instructions.
