Numbers 3:1–4:49
3 Now these are the arecords 1of Aaron and Moses when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the bfirstborn, and cAbihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, dthe anointed priests, 2whom he consecrated to minister as priests. 4 eNadab and Abihu had died before the Lord when they offered profane fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.
The Levites Serve in the Tabernacle
5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6 f“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do gthe work of the tabernacle. 8 Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. 9 And hyou shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to 3him from among the children of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, iand they shall attend to their priesthood; jbut the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “Now behold, kI Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be lMine, 13 because mall the firstborn are Mine. nOn the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”
Census of the Levites Commanded
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying: 15 “Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families; you shall number oevery male from a month old and above.”
16 So Moses numbered them according to the 4word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17 pThese were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of qGershon by their families: rLibni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of sKohath by their families: tAmram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 uAnd the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are 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 vThe families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward. 24 And the leader of the father’s house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25 wThe duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting included xthe tabernacle, ythe tent with zits covering, athe screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, 26 bthe screen for the door of the court, cthe hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and dtheir cords, according to all the work relating to them.
27 eFrom 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 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and above, there were eight thousand 5six hundred 6keeping charge of the sanctuary. 29 fThe families of the children of Kohath were to camp 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 gUzziel. 31 hTheir duty included ithe ark, jthe table, kthe lampstand, lthe altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, mthe screen, and all the work relating to them.
32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be 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. nThese were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And othe appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them, 37 and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.
38 pMoreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, qkeeping charge of the sanctuary, rto meet the needs of the children of Israel; but sthe outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 tAll who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, by their families, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand.
Levites Dedicated Instead of the Firstborn
40 Then the Lord said to Moses: u“Number 7all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names. 41 vAnd you shall take the Levites for Me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel.” 42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the children of Israel, as the Lord 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 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 45 w“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine: I am the Lord. 46 And for xthe redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, ywho are more than the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take zfive shekels for each one aindividually; you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, bthe 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 children of Israel he took the money, cone thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses dgave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “Take a census of the sons of aKohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house, 3 bfrom thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.
4 c“This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of meeting, relating to dthe most holy things: 5 When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down ethe covering veil and cover the fark of the Testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of badger skins, and spread over that a cloth entirely of gblue; and they shall insert hits poles.
7 “On the itable of showbread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the pans, the bowls, and the 1pitchers for pouring; and the jshowbread 2shall be on it. 8 They shall spread over them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. 9 And they shall take a blue cloth and cover the klampstand of the light, lwith its lamps, its wick-trimmers, its trays, and all its oil vessels, with which they service it. 10 Then they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of badger skins, and put it on a carrying beam.
11 “Over mthe golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles. 12 Then they shall take all the nutensils of service with which they minister in the sanctuary, put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of badger skins, and put them on a carrying beam. 13 Also they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 They shall put on it all its implements with which they minister there—the firepans, the forks, the shovels, the 3basins, and all the utensils of the altar—and they shall spread on it a covering of badger skins, and insert its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then othe sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; pbut they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.
q“These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
16 “The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is rthe oil for the light, the ssweet incense, tthe daily grain offering, the uanointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 18 “Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; 19 but do this in regard to them, that they may live and not die when they approach vthe most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and 4appoint each of them to his service and his task. 20 wBut they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die.”