Numbers 3
3
Aaron's Sons
1This is the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. 2#Num 26.60Aaron had four sons: Nadab, the eldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3They were anointed and ordained as priests, 4#Lev 10.1–2; Num 26.61but Nadab and Abihu were killed when they offered unholy fire to the LORD in the Sinai Desert. They had no children, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during Aaron's lifetime.
The Levites are Appointed to Serve the Priests
5The LORD said to Moses, 6“Bring forward the tribe of Levi and appoint them as servants of Aaron the priest. 7They shall do the work required for the Tent of my presence and perform duties for the priests and for the whole community. 8They shall take charge of all the equipment of the Tent and perform the duties for the rest of the Israelites. 9The only responsibility the Levites have is to serve Aaron and his sons. 10You shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; anyone else who tries to do so shall be put to death.”
11The LORD said to Moses, 12-13#Ex 13.2“The Levites are now to be mine. When I killed all the firstborn of the Egyptians, I consecrated as my own the eldest son of each Israelite family and the firstborn of every animal. Now, instead of having the firstborn sons of Israel as my own, I have the Levites; they will belong to me. I am the LORD.”
The Census of the Levites
14In the Sinai Desert the LORD commanded Moses 15to register the Levites by clans and families, enrolling every male a month old or older, 16and Moses did so. 17-20Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, who were the ancestors of the clans that bear their names. Gershon had two sons: Libni and Shimei; Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. They were the ancestors of the families that bear their names.
21The clan of Gershon was composed of the families of Libni and Shimei. 22The total number of males one month old or older that were enrolled was 7,500. 23This clan was to camp on the west behind the Tent, 24with Eliasaph son of Lael as chief of the clan. 25They were responsible for the Tent, its inner cover, its outer cover, the curtain for the entrance, 26the curtains for the court which is round the Tent and the altar, and the curtain for the entrance of the court. They were responsible for all the service connected with these items.
27The clan of Kohath was composed of the families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 28The total number of males one month old or older that were enrolled was 8,600. 29This clan was to camp on the south side of the Tent, 30with Elizaphan son of Uzziel as chief of the clan. 31They were responsible for the Covenant Box, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils the priests use in the Holy Place, and the curtain at the entrance to the Most Holy Place. They were responsible for all the service connected with these items.
32The chief of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. He was in charge of those who carried out the duties in the Holy Place.
33The clan of Merari was composed of the families of Mahli and Mushi. 34The total number of males one month old or older that were enrolled was 6,200. 35This clan was to camp on the north side of the Tent, with Zuriel son of Abihail as chief of the clan. 36They were assigned responsibility for the frames for the Tent, its bars, posts, bases, and all its fittings. They were responsible for all the service connected with these items. 37They were also responsible for the posts, bases, pegs, and ropes for the outer court.
38Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp in front of the Tent on the east. They were responsible for carrying out the services performed in the Holy Place for the people of Israel. Anyone else who tried to do so was to be put to death. 39The total number of all the Levite males one month old or older that Moses enrolled by clans at the command of the LORD, was 22,000.
The Levites Take the Place of the Firstborn Sons
40-41The LORD said to Moses, “All of Israel's firstborn sons belong to me. So register by name every firstborn male Israelite, one month old or older. But in place of them I claim all the Levites as mine! I am the LORD! I also claim the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock.” 42Moses obeyed, and registered all the firstborn males 43one month old or older; the total was 22,273.
44The LORD said to Moses, 45“Now dedicate the Levites as mine in place of all the firstborn Israelite sons, and dedicate the livestock of the Levites in place of the firstborn of the Israelites' livestock. 46Since the firstborn Israelite sons outnumber the Levites by 273, you must buy back the extra sons. 47For each one pay five pieces of silver, according to the official standard, 48and give this money to Aaron and his sons.” 49Moses obeyed and took 50the 1,365 pieces of silver 51and gave them to Aaron and his sons.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Numbers 3
3
Aaron’s Family, the Priests
1This is the family history of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord talked to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2Aaron had four sons. Nadab was the firstborn son. Then there were Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3These sons were the chosen#3:3 chosen Or “anointed.” See “anoint” in the Word List. priests. They were given the special work of serving the Lord as priests. 4But Nadab and Abihu died while serving the Lord. They used fire that the Lord did not allow when they made an offering to him. So Nadab and Abihu died there, in the desert of Sinai. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar took their place and served the Lord as priests. This happened while their father Aaron was still alive.
Levites—the Priests’ Helpers
5The Lord said to Moses, 6“Bring all the men from the tribe of Levi. Bring them to Aaron the priest. These men will be his helpers. 7The Levites will help him when he serves at the Meeting Tent. And they will help all the Israelites when they come to worship at the Holy Tent. 8The Israelites should protect everything in the Meeting Tent; it is their duty. But the Levites will serve the Israelites by caring for these things. This will be their way of serving at the Holy Tent.
9“Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. The Levites were chosen from all the Israelites to help Aaron and his sons.
10“Appoint Aaron and his sons to be priests. They must do their duty and serve as priests. Anyone else who tries to come near the holy things#3:10 tries … holy things Or “tries to serve as a priest.” must be killed.”
11The Lord also said to Moses, 12-13“I destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt. At that time I chose all the firstborn from every family in Israel to be mine in a special way. That included all the firstborn men and animals. But now I am choosing the Levites to take their place. Now they will be my special servants. I, the Lord, give this command!”
14The Lord again said to Moses in the desert of Sinai, 15“Count all the families and family groups in the tribe of Levi. Count every man or boy who is one month old or older.” 16So Moses obeyed the Lord. He counted them all.
17Levi had three sons. Their names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18Each son was the leader of several family groups.
The Gershon family groups were Libni and Shimei.
19The Kohath family groups were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20The Merari family groups were Mahli and Mushi.
These are the families that belonged to Levi’s family group.
21The families of Libni and Shimei belonged to the family of Gershon. They were the Gershonite family groups. 22There were 7500 men and boys over one month old in these two family groups. 23The Gershonite family groups were told to camp in the west. They made their camp behind the Holy Tent. 24The leader of the family groups of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25In the Meeting Tent, the Gershonites had the job of taking care of the Holy Tent, the outer tent, and the covering. They also took care of the curtain at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 26They cared for the curtain in the courtyard. And they cared for the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. This courtyard was around the Holy Tent and the altar. And they cared for the ropes and for everything that was used with the curtains.
27The families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel belonged to the family of Kohath. They were the Kohathite family groups. 28In this family group there were 8300#3:28 8300 Some copies of the ancient Greek version have “8300.” The Hebrew copies have “8600.” See Num. 3:22, 28, 34, 39. men and boys a month old or over. The Kohathites were given the job of taking care of the things in the Holy Place. 29The Kohathite family groups were given the area to the south of the Holy Tent. This was the area where they camped. 30The leader of the Kohathite family groups was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31Their job was to take care of the Holy Box, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the dishes of the Holy Place. They also cared for the curtain and all the things that were used with the curtain.
32The leader over the leaders of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. Eleazar was in charge of everyone who took care of the holy things.
33-34The family groups of Mahli and Mushi belonged to the Merari family. There were 6200 men and boys who were one month old or older in the Mahli family group. 35The leader of the Merari family group was Zuriel son of Abihail. This family group was given the area to the north of the Holy Tent. This is the area where they camped. 36The people from the Merari family were given the job of caring for the frames of the Holy Tent. They cared for all the braces, posts, bases, and everything that was used with the frames of the Holy Tent. 37They also cared for all the posts in the courtyard around the Holy Tent. This included all the bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
38Moses, Aaron, and his sons camped east of the Holy Tent, in front of the Meeting Tent. They were given the work of caring for the Holy Place. They did this for all the Israelites. Anyone else who came near the Holy Place was to be killed.
39The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to count all the men and boys one month old or older in Levi’s family group. The total number was 22,000.
Levites Take the Place of the Firstborn
40The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn men and boys in Israel who are at least one month old. Write their names on a list. 41I am the Lord. I will take the Levites instead of all the firstborn men and boys of Israel. I will also take the animals from the Levites instead of taking all the firstborn animals from the other people in Israel.”
42So Moses did what the Lord commanded. He counted all the firstborn children of the Israelites. 43He listed all the firstborn men and boys who were one month old or older. There were 22,273 names on that list.
44The Lord also said to Moses, 45“I, the Lord, give this command: ‘Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn men from the other families of Israel. And I will take the animals of the Levites instead of the animals of the other people. The Levites are mine. 46There are 22,000 Levites, but there are 22,273 firstborn sons from the other families. This leaves 273 more firstborn sons than Levites. 47Using the official measure, collect five shekels#3:47 five shekels 2 ounces (57.5 g). of silver for each of the 273 people. (The shekel by the official measure weighs 20 gerahs.#3:47 gerahs 1/50 of an ounce (.6 g).) Collect that silver from the Israelites. 48Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as payment for the 273 Israelites.’”
49There were not enough Levites to take the place of all the men from the other family groups, so Moses gathered the money for them. 50Moses collected the silver from the firstborn men of the Israelites. He collected 1365 shekels#3:50 1365 shekels 35 pounds (15.7 kg). of silver, using the official measure. 51Moses obeyed the Lord’s command and gave the silver to Aaron and his sons. He did it just as the Lord had told him.
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