Numbers 3
3
1And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Jehovah spoke with Moses on mount Sinai. 2And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, who were consecrated to exercise the priesthood. 4And Nadab and Abihu died before Jehovah when they offered strange fire before Jehovah in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons; and Eleazar and Ithamar exercised the priesthood in the presence of Aaron their father. 5And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 6Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him; 7and they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole assembly, before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8And they shall keep all the utensils of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given to him out of the children of Israel. 10And Aaron and his sons shalt thou appoint that they may attend to their priest's office; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death. 11And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 12And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that breaketh open the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine; 13for every firstborn is mine. On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be: I am Jehovah.
14And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15Number the sons of Levi according to their fathers' houses, after their families; every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. 16And Moses numbered them, according to the commandment of Jehovah, — as he had been commanded. 17And these are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. 18And these are the names of the sons of Gershon according to their families: Libni and Shimei. 19And the sons of Kohath according to their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 20And the sons of Merari according to their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers' houses. 21Of Gershon, the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites. 22Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, those that were numbered of them were seven thousand five hundred. 23The families of the Gershonites encamped behind the tabernacle westward. 24And the prince of the father's house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was: the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain of the entrance to the tent of meeting. 26And the hangings of the court, and the curtain of the entrance to the court, which surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the cords thereof for all its service. 27And of Kohath, 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. 28According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, who kept the charge of the sanctuary. 29The families of the sons of Kohath encamped on the side of the tabernacle southward. 30And the prince of the father's house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31And their charge was the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, and the curtain, and all that belongs to its service. 32And the prince of princes of the Levites was Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest: he had the oversight of them that kept the charge of the sanctuary. 33Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari. 34And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred. 35And the prince of the father's house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They encamped on the side of the tabernacle northward. 36And the charge of the sons of Merari consisted in the oversight of the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its bases, and all its furniture, and all that belongs to its service, 37and the pillars of the court round about, and their bases, and their pegs, and their cords. 38And those who encamped before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, were Moses, and Aaron and his sons, who kept the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death. 39All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of Jehovah, according to their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.
40And Jehovah said to 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. 41And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am Jehovah) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites, instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel. 42And Moses numbered, as Jehovah had commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel. 43And all the firstborn males, by the number of the names, from a month old and upward, according to their numbering, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three. 44And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 45Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am Jehovah. 46And for those that are to be ransomed, the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are in excess over the Levites, 47thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll, according to the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them, — twenty gerahs the shekel; 48and thou shalt give the money unto Aaron and unto his sons for those in excess among them who are to be ransomed. 49And Moses took the ransom-money from them that were over and above those who were ransomed by the Levites; 50of the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51And Moses gave the money of them that were ransomed to Aaron and to his sons, according to the commandment of Jehovah, — as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
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Numbers 3: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Numbers 3
3
Aaron’s sons
1These are the descendants of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab the oldest, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3These are the names of Aaron’s sons, who are the anointed priests and ordained to the priesthood. 4Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they made an unauthorized offering to the LORD in the Sinai desert. They didn’t have any sons. Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
The Levites’ first census
5The LORD spoke to Moses: 6Bring near the tribe of Levi and place them before Aaron the priest. They will assist him. 7They will perform duties for him and for the entire community before the meeting tent, doing the work of the dwelling. 8They will be responsible for all the equipment of the meeting tent and the duties on behalf of the Israelites when they do the work of the dwelling. 9You will give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They have been assigned as a gift to him from the Israelites. 10You will appoint Aaron and his sons to be responsible for the priesthood. Any other person who approaches will be put to death.
11The LORD spoke to Moses: 12I claim the Levites from the Israelites in place of all the oldest males who open an Israelite womb. The Levites are mine 13because all the oldest males are mine. When I killed all the oldest males in the land of Egypt, I reserved for myself all the oldest males in Israel, both humans and animals. They are mine; I am the LORD.
14The LORD spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert: 15Enroll the Levites by their households and their clans. You will enroll all the males over one month old. 16Moses enrolled them according to the LORD’s word as he was commanded. 17These were Levi’s sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18These were the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19Kohath’s sons by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20Merari’s sons by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi by their households.
21To Gershon belonged the clans of Libni and Shimei. These were the clans of the Gershonites. 22Their enrollment, according to the number of males over one month old, was 7,500. 23The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the dwelling on the west side. 24The chief of the household of the Gershonites was Eliasaph, Lael’s son. 25In the dwelling, the Gershonites were responsible for the meeting tent, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the meeting tent, 26the curtains of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance of the courtyard surrounding the meeting tent and the altar, and its cords—all these structures.
27To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites. These were the clans of the Kohathites. 28The number of males over one month old, who would perform duties for the sanctuary, was 8,600. 29The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the dwelling. 30The chief of the household representing the clans of the Kohathites was Elizaphan, Uzziel’s son. 31They were responsible for the chest, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the equipment of the sanctuary with which they would minister, and the screen—all these furnishings. 32The head chief over the chiefs of the Levites was Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest. He was supervisor over those performing the duties of the sanctuary.
33To Merari belonged the clans of Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Merarites. 34Their enrollment, according to the number of males over one month old, was 6,200. 35The chief of the household representing the clans of the Merarites was Zuriel, Abihail’s son. They were to camp on the north side of the dwelling. 36The Merarites were assigned responsibility for the frames of the dwelling, its bars, pillars, bases, and all its equipment—all these items— 37and the pillars of the courtyard all around, their bases, pegs, and cords.
38Those camping in front of the dwelling eastward (that is, before the meeting tent on the east side) were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of the sanctuary as service for the Israelites. Anyone else who approached would be put to death. 39The total enrollment of the Levites, all the males over one month old whom Moses and Aaron enrolled by orders from the LORD, according to their clans, was 22,000.
Levites rescue the oldest male Israelites
40The LORD said to Moses: Enroll all the oldest males of the Israelites over one month of age and record their names. 41Take the Levites for me, in place of all the oldest sons of the Israelites, for I am the LORD, and the cattle of the Levites in place of all the oldest cattle of the Israelites. 42Moses enrolled all the oldest males of the Israelites as the LORD commanded. 43All the oldest males over one month old, recorded by name according to their enrollment, were 22,273.
44Then the LORD spoke to Moses: 45Take the Levites in place of all the oldest Israelites and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle. The Levites are mine; I am the LORD. 46To rescue the 273 remaining oldest Israelites over and above the number of Levites, 47you will receive five shekels each. You will receive them according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs to the shekel. 48You will give the money for their rescue to Aaron and his sons.
49So Moses took the money from those rescued over and above the ones rescued by the Levites. 50He took the money from the oldest of the Israelites, 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. 51Moses gave the money for those rescued to Aaron and his sons according to the LORD’s word, as the LORD commanded Moses.
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