Numbers 3
3
The Levites
1This is the family tree of Aaron and Moses at the time God spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
2-4The names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar—anointed priests ordained to serve as priests. But Nadab and Abihu fell dead in the presence of God when they offered unauthorized sacrifice to him in the Wilderness of Sinai. They left no sons, and so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father, Aaron.
5-10 God spoke to Moses. He said, “Bring forward the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron so they can help him. They shall work for him and the whole congregation at the Tent of Meeting by doing the work of The Dwelling. Their job is to be responsible for all the furnishings of The Dwelling, ministering to the affairs of The Dwelling as the People of Israel come to perform their duties. Turn the Levites over to Aaron and his sons; they are the ones assigned to work full time for him. Appoint Aaron and his sons to minister as priests; anyone else who tries to elbow his way in will be put to death.”
11-13 God spoke to Moses: “I have taken the Levites from among the People of Israel as a stand-in for every Israelite mother’s firstborn son. The Levites belong to me. All the firstborn are mine—when I killed all the firstborn in Egypt, I consecrated for my own use every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They belong to me. I am God.”
14-16 God spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: “Count the Levites by their ancestral families and clans. Count every male a month old and older.” Moses counted them just as he was instructed by the mouth of God.
17These are the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18These are the names of the Gershonite clans: Libni and Shimei.
19The sons of Kohath by clan: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20The sons of Merari by clan: Mahli and Mushi.
These are the clans of Levi, family by family.
21-26Gershon was ancestor to the clans of the Libnites and Shimeites, known as the Gershonite clans. All the males who were one month and older numbered 7,500. The Gershonite clans camped on the west, behind The Dwelling, led by Eliasaph son of Lael. At the Tent of Meeting the Gershonites were in charge of maintaining The Dwelling and its tent, its coverings, the screen at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the hangings of the Courtyard, the screen at the entrance to the Courtyard that surrounded The Dwelling and Altar, and the cords—in short, everything having to do with these things.
27-32Kohath was ancestor to the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites. These were known as the Kohathite clans. All the males who were one month and older numbered 8,600. The Kohathites were in charge of the Sanctuary. The Kohathite clans camped on the south side of The Dwelling, led by Elizaphan son of Uzziel. They were in charge of caring for the Chest, the Table, the Lampstand, the Altars, the articles of the Sanctuary used in worship, and the screen—everything having to do with these things. Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, supervised the leaders of the Levites and those in charge of the Sanctuary.
33-37Merari was ancestor to the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites, known as the Merarite clans. The males who were one month and older numbered 6,200. They were led by Zuriel son of Abihail and camped on the north side of The Dwelling. The Merarites were in charge of the frames of The Dwelling, its crossbars, posts, bases, and all its equipment—everything having to do with these things, as well as the posts of the surrounding Courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and cords.
38Moses and Aaron and his sons camped to the east of The Dwelling, toward the rising sun, in front of the Tent of Meeting. They were in charge of maintaining the Sanctuary for the People of Israel and the rituals of worship. Anyone else who tried to perform these duties was to be put to death.
39The sum total of Levites counted at God’s command by Moses and Aaron, clan by clan, all the males one month and older, numbered 22,000.
40-41 God spoke to Moses: “Count all the firstborn males of the People of Israel who are one month and older. List their names. Then set apart for me the Levites—remember, I am God—in place of all the firstborn among the People of Israel, also the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. I am God.”
42-43So, just as God commanded him, Moses counted all the firstborn of the People of Israel. The total of firstborn males one month and older, listed by name, numbered 22,273.
44-48Again God spoke to Moses. He said, “Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are mine, I am God. Redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of Levites by collecting five shekels for each one, using the Sanctuary shekel (the shekel weighing twenty gerahs). Give that money to Aaron and his sons for the redemption of the excess number of Israelites.”
49-51So Moses collected the redemption money from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. From the 273 firstborn Israelites he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels according to the Sanctuary shekel. Moses turned over the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of God.
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Numbers 3: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
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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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.