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Numbers 3:12–16

12 “Behold, nI have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for oall the firstborn are mine. pOn the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; qevery male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.

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Numbers 3:12–16 — The New International Version (NIV)

12 “I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.”

14 The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 “Count the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more.” 16 So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.

Numbers 3:12–16 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; 13 Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the Lord.

14 And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. 16 And Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.

Numbers 3:12–16 — New Living Translation (NLT)

12 “Look, I have chosen the Levites from among the Israelites to serve as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me, 13 for all the firstborn males are mine. On the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both of people and of animals. They are mine; I am the Lord.”

14 The Lord spoke again to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. He said, 15 “Record the names of the members of the tribe of Levi by their families and clans. List every male who is one month old or older.” 16 So Moses listed them, just as the Lord had commanded.

Numbers 3:12–16 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

12 “Now behold, I 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 Mine, 13 because all the firstborn are Mine. On 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.”

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 every male from a month old and above.”

16 So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.

Numbers 3:12–16 — New Century Version (NCV)

12 “I am choosing the Levites from all the Israelites to take the place of all the firstborn children of Israel. The Levites will be mine, 13 because the firstborn are mine. When you were in Egypt, I killed all the firstborn children of the Egyptians and took all the firstborn of Israel to be mine, both animals and children. They are mine. I am the Lord.”

14 The Lord again said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 “Count the Levites by families and family groups. Count every male one month old or older.” 16 So Moses obeyed the Lord and counted them all.

Numbers 3:12–16 — American Standard Version (ASV)

12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the first-born that openeth the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine: 13 for all the first-born are mine; on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast; mine they shall be: I am Jehovah.

14 And Jehovah spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. 16 And Moses numbered them according to the word of Jehovah, as he was commanded.

Numbers 3:12–16 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

12 And 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; 13 for 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.

14 And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 Number the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ houses, after their families; every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. 16 And Moses numbered them, according to the commandment of Jehovah, —as he had been commanded.

Numbers 3:12–16 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

12 “Out of all the Israelites, I have taken the Levites to be substitutes for every firstborn male offspring among them. The Levites are mine, 13 because every firstborn is mine. The day I killed every firstborn male in Egypt, I set apart as holy every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They will be mine. I am the Lord.” 

14 The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 “Count the Levites by households and families. Count every male who is at least one month old.” 16 So Moses did what the Lord said and registered them as he had been commanded. 

Numbers 3:12–16 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

12 “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to Me, 13 because every firstborn belongs to Me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to Myself, both man and animal. They are Mine; I am Yahweh.”

14 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: 15 “Register the Levites by their ancestral houses and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.” 16 So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:

Numbers 3:12–16 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

12 I hereby accept the Levites from among the Israelites as substitutes for all the firstborn that open the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the Lord.

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying: 15 Enroll the Levites by ancestral houses and by clans. You shall enroll every male from a month old and upward. 16 So Moses enrolled them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.

Numbers 3:12–16 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

12 “I myself receive the Levites from the midst of the Israelites in the place of all the firstborn of the offspring of the womb from the Israelites. The Levites will be mine 13 because all the firstborn are mine; on the day of my killing all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both humankind and animal; they will be mine. I am Yahweh.”

14 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying, 15 “Muster the descendants of Levi according to their families, according to their clans. You will count every male from one month and above.” 16 So Moses mustered them according to the command of Yahweh, just as he commanded.

Numbers 3:12–16 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

12 “I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel. I have taken them in place of the oldest son who is born to each woman in Israel. The Levites belong to me. 13 That is because every male that is born first to a mother is mine. In Egypt I struck down all of the males that were born first. I did it when I set apart for myself every male that is born first to a mother in Israel. That is true for men and animals alike. They belong to me. I am the Lord.”

14 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai. He said, 15 “Count the Levites by their family groups. Count every male who is a month old or more.” 16 So Moses counted them. He did just as the word of the Lord had commanded him.

Numbers 3:12–16 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

12 “Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine.

13 “For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,

15 Number the sons of Levi by their fathers households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number.”

16 So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded.


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