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“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 lamp-stand, 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.

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