Numbers 3

1 Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Jehovah spake with Moses in mount Sinai.2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the first-born, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests that were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.4 And Nadab and Abihu died before Jehovah, when they offered strange fire before Jehovah, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children; and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the presence of Aaron their father.

5 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.7 And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.8 And they shall keep all the furniture of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.9 And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him on the behalf of the children of Israel.10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

11 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the first-born that openeth the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine:13 for all the first-born are mine; on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast; mine they shall be: I am Jehovah.

14 And Jehovah spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,15 Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.16 And Moses numbered them according to the word of Jehovah, as he was commanded.17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.19 And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.20 And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.

21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites: these are the families of the Gershonites.22 Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.23 The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.24 And the prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the Tent, the covering thereof, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,26 and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.

27 And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.29 The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the side of the tabernacle southward.30 And the prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.31 And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the screen, and all the service thereof.32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.34 And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.35 And the prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: they shall encamp on the side of the tabernacle northward.36 And the appointed charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the instruments thereof, and all the service thereof,37 and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.

38 And those that encamp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.39 All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of Jehovah, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.

40 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Number all the first-born males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.41 And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am Jehovah) instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel:42 and Moses numbered, as Jehovah commanded him, all the first-born among the children of Israel.43 And all the first-born males according to the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.

44 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,45 Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am Jehovah.46 And for the redemption of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the first-born of the children of Israel, that are over and above the number of the Levites,47 thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll; after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs):48 and thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.49 And Moses took the redemption-money from them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites;50 from the first-born of the children of Israel took he the money, a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:51 and Moses gave the redemption-money unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of Jehovah, as Jehovah commanded Moses.

Numbers 3

The sons of Aaron

1 When the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 Aaron's four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar,t 3 were the ones to be ordained as priests.

4 But the Lord killed Nadab and Abihu in the Sinai Desert when they used fire that was unacceptablet in their offering to the Lord.t And because Nadab and Abihu had no sons, only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests with their father Aaron.t

The duties of the Levites

5 The Lord said to Moses:
6 Assign the Levi tribe to Aaron the priest. They will be his assistants 7 and will work at the sacred tent for him and for all the Israelites. 8 The Levites will serve the community by being responsible for the furnishings of the tent. 9 They are assigned to help Aaron and his sons,

10 who have been appointed to be priests. Anyone else who tries to perform the duties of a priest must be put to death.

11-13 Moses, I have chosen these Levites from all Israel, and they will belong to me in a special way. When I killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the firstborn sons in every Israelite family and the firstborn males of their flocks and herds would be mine.t But now I accept these Levites in place of the firstborn sons of the Israelites.t

The Levites are counted

16 So Moses obeyed and counted them.
17 Levi's three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, had become the heads of their own clans. 18 Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei. 19 Kohath's sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

20 And Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. These were the sons and grandsons of Levi, and they had become the leaders of the Levite clans.
21 The two Gershon clans were the Libnites and Shimeites, 22 and they had seven thousand five hundred men and boys at least one month old. 23 The Gershonites were to camp on the west side of the sacred tent, 24 under the leadership of Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 Their duties at the tent included taking care of the tent itself, along with its outer covering, the curtain for the entrance,

26 the curtains hanging inside the courtyard around the tent, as well as the curtain and ropes for the entrance to the courtyard and its altar. The Gershonites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.
27 The four Kohath clans were the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and the Uzzielites, 28 and they had eight thousand six hundredt men and boys at least one month old. 29 The Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the sacred tent, 30 under the leadership of Elizaphan son of Uzziel.

31 Their duties at the tent included taking care of the sacred chest, the table for the sacred bread, the lampstand, the altars, the objects used for worship, and the curtain in front of the most holy place. The Kohathites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.

32 Eleazar son of Aaron was the head of the Levite leaders, and he made sure that the work at the sacred tent was done.
33 The two Merari clans were the Mahlites and the Mushites, 34 and they had six thousand two hundred men and boys at least one month old. 35 The Merarites were to camp on the north side of the sacred tent, under the leadership of Zuriel son of Abihail.

36-37 Their duties included taking care of the tent frames and the pieces that held the tent up: the bars, the posts, the stands, and its other equipment. They were also in charge of the posts that supported the courtyard, as well as their stands, tent pegs, and ropes. The Merari clans were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.

38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons were to camp in front of the sacred tent, on the east side, and to make sure that the Israelites worshipped in the proper way. Anyone else who tried to do the work of Moses and Aaron was to be put to death.

39 So Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord and counted the Levites by their clans. The total number of Levites at least one month old was twenty-two thousand.

The Levites are accepted as substitutes for the firstborn sons

41 They belong to me, but I will accept the Levites as substitutes for them, and I will accept the Levites' livestock as substitutes for the Israelites' firstborn livestock.”
42 Moses obeyed the Lord and counted the firstborn sons;

43 there were 22,273 of them.
44 Then the Lord said, 45 “The Levites will belong to me and will take the place of the firstborn sons; their livestock will take the place of the Israelites' firstborn livestock. 46 But since there are more firstborn sons than Levites, the extra two hundred and seventy-three men and boys must be bought back from me. 47 For each one, you are to collect five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards.

48 This money must then be given to Aaron and his sons.”
49 Moses collected the silver from the extra two hundred and seventy-three firstborn men and boys, 50 and it amounted to one thousand three hundred and sixty-five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. 51 Then he gave it to Aaron and his sons, just as the Lord had commanded.