Numbers 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

4 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.

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.

5 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

And the Lord said to Moses,

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

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

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

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;

8 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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

11 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

And the Lord said to Moses,

12 “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.

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;

13 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.”

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25 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.

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,

26 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.

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.

27 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.

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

28 8,600 males have been counted aged one month old and older to take care of the things that belong to Yahweh.

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.

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

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

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

Their chief is Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.

31 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.

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.

32 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.

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.

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

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

34 6,200 males have been counted aged one month old and older.

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

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

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.

36 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

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,

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

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

38 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.

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.

39 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.

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.

40 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.

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

41 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.”

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.

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

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

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

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.

44 Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,

And the Lord said to Moses,

45 “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.

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.

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

51 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.

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