Números 3

¹ Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Jehovah spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

² And 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 anointed priests, whom he consecrated to serve as priests.

⁴ Nadab and Abihu died before Jehovah when they offered strange fire before Jehovah in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.

⁵ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying:

⁶ Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve 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 have charge of all the utensils of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

⁹ And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are assigned to him from among the sons of Israel.

¹⁰ Thus you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall have charge of the priesthood; but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.

¹¹ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying:

¹² And behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the sons of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine,

¹³ because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to Myself every firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They are Mine: I am Jehovah.

¹⁴ And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying:

¹⁵ Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families; you shall number every male from a month old and above.

¹⁶ So Moses numbered them at the mouth of Jehovah, as he had been commanded.

¹⁷ And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, 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, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁰ And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These, the families of the Levites by their fathers’ houses.

²¹ From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; these were the families of the Gershonites.

²² Those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above; of those who were numbered there were seven thousand five hundred.

²³ The families of the Gershonites were to encamp behind the tabernacle westward.

²⁴ And the leader of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

²⁵ The charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,

²⁶ the screen for the door of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, according to all their work.

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.

²⁸ The number of all the males, from a month old and above, were eight thousand six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.

²⁹ The families of the sons of Kohath were to encamp on the south side of the tabernacle.

³⁰ And the leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

³¹ Their charge was the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the veil, and all their service.

³² And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was chief over the leaders of the Levites, with oversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary.

³³ From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari.

³⁴ And those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above, were six thousand two hundred.

³⁵ The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. These were to encamp on the north side of the tabernacle.

³⁶ And the oversight and charge of the sons of Merari was the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all their service,

³⁷ and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.

³⁸ And those who were to encamp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, keeping charge of the sanctuary, to keep the charge of the children of Israel. And the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.

³⁹ All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the mouth of Jehovah, by their families, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand.

⁴⁰ And Jehovah said to Moses: Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names.

⁴¹ And you shall take the Levites for Me (I am Jehovah) instead of all the firstborn among 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 numbered all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, as Jehovah had commanded him.

⁴³ And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names from a month old and above, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

⁴⁴ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying:

⁴⁵ Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites are Mine: I am Jehovah.

⁴⁶ And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the sons of Israel, who are more than the Levites,

⁴⁷ you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty gerahs.

⁴⁸ And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed, to Aaron and his sons.

⁴⁹ So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed by the Levites.

⁵⁰ From the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

⁵¹ And Moses gave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, at the mouth of Jehovah, as Jehovah had commanded Moses.