Numbers 3

Aaron's Sons and the Levites

1 These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of Aaron's sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of Aaron's sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests.

4 But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord's presence when they presented unauthorized fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 9 Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites.

10 You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near [the sanctuary] must be put to death."
11 The Lord spoke to Moses: 12 "See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to Me,

13 because every firstborn belongs to Me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to Myself, both man and animal. They are Mine; I am the Lord."

The Levitical Census

14 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: 15 "Register the Levites by their ancestral houses and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more."

16 So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:
17 These were Levi's sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 These were the names of Gershon's sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 Kohath's sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

20 Merari's sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral houses.
21 The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. 22 Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. 23 The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side, 24 and the leader of the Gershonite family was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 The Gershonites' duties at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,

26 the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes-all the work relating to these.
27 The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. 28 Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600 responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 and the leader of the family of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen-and all the work relating to them.

32 The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.
33 The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. 34 Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. 35 The leader of the family of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 The assigned duties of Merari's descendants involved the tabernacle's supports, crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these,

37 in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.

38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near [it] was to be put to death.

39 The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron registered by their clans at the Lord's command was 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

40 The Lord told Moses: "Register every firstborn male of the Israelites one month old or more, and list their names. 41 You are to take the Levites for Me-I am the Lord-in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites' cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites' cattle." 42 So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him.

43 The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.
44 The Lord spoke to Moses again: 45 "Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites' cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to Me; I am the Lord. 46 As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, 47 collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel-20 gerahs to the shekel.

48 Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites."
49 So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. 50 He collected the money from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 [shekels measured] by the standard sanctuary shekel.

51 He gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Numbers 3

The Sons of Aaron

1 s Now these are the recordst of Aaron and Moses whent the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointedt priests, whom he consecratedt to minister as priests.t

4 Nadab and Abihu diedt before the Lords when they offeredt stranget firets before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children.s So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priestst in the presence oft Aaron their father.

The Assignment of the Levites

5 The Lord spoke to Moses:6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near,s and presentt them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.t7 They are responsible for his needst and the needs of the whole community before the tent of meeting, by attendingt to the service of the tabernacle.8 And they are responsible for all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and for the needs of the Israelites, as they servets in the tabernacle.9 You are to assignt the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they will be assigned exclusivelyt to him out of allt the Israelites.

10 So you are to appoint Aaron and his sons, and they will be responsible for their priesthood;s but the unauthorized persont who comes near must be put to death.”
11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses:12 “Look,t I myself have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead oft every firstborn who opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites belong to me,

13 because all the firstborn are mine. When I destroyedt all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They belong to me. I am the Lord.”s

The Numbering of the Levites

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai:15 “Number the Levites by their clanst and their families; every male from a month old and upward you are to number.”t

16 So Moses numbered them according to the wordt of the Lord, just as he had been commanded.t

The Summary of Families

17 These were the sonst of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.19 The sons of Kohath by their families were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

20 The sons of Merari by their families were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their clans.

The Numbering of the Gershonites

21 From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites.22 Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 7,500.23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle toward the west.

24 Now the leadert of the clant of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael.
25 Andt the responsibilities of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the curtain at the entrance of the tent of meeting,

26 the hangings of the courtyard,s the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard that surrounded the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes, plus all the service connected with these things.t

The Numbering of the Kohathites

27 From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites.s28 Counting every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600. They were responsible for the caret of the sanctuary.29 The families of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle.

30 Now the leader of the clan of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.
31 Their responsibilities included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered,t the curtain, and all their service.t

32 Now the head of all the Levitical leaderst was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsiblet for the sanctuary.

The Numbering of Merari

33 From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these weret the families of Merari.34 Those of them who were numbered, counting every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200.

35 Now the leader of the clan of the families of Merari was Zuriel son of Abihail. These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
36 The appointed responsibilities of the Merarites included the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, its posts, its sockets, its utensils, plus all the service connected with these things,t

37 and the pillars of the courtyard all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their ropes.
38 But those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting, were Moses, Aaron,s and his sons. They were responsible for the needst of the sanctuary and for the needs of the Israelites, but the unauthorized person who approached was to be put to death.

39 All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the wordt of the Lord, according to their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000.t

The Substitution for the Firstborn

40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number all the firstborn males of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and taket the number of their names.41 And taket the Levites for me – I am the Lord – instead of all the firstborn males among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites.”42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn males among the Israelites, as the Lord had commanded him.

43 And all the firstborn males, by the number of the names from a month old and upward, totaled 22,273.
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses:45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn males among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. And the Levites will be mine. I am the Lord.46 And for the redemption of the 273 firstborn males of the Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites,47 collectt five shekels for eacht one individually; you are to collectt this amountt in the currency of the sanctuary shekel (this shekel is twenty gerahs).s

48 And give the money for the redemption of the excess number of them to Aaron and his sons.”
49 So Moses took the redemption moneys from those who were in excess of those redeemed by the Levites.50 From the firstborn males of the Israelites he collected the money, 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.

51 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.