Numbers 3–4

3RD CHAPTER

The Tribe of Levi Is Registered and Assigned Duties

¹This is the list of Aaron and Moses’ descendants at the time when the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. 

²The names of Aaron’s sons are Nadab (the firstborn), Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence because they offered unauthorized fire in his presence in the Desert of Sinai. They had no children. So only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron. 

⁵The Lord said to Moses, ⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi, and have them stand in front of the priest Aaron to assist him. ⁷They will work for him and the whole community in front of the tent of meeting, doing what needs to be done for the inner tent. ⁸They will take care of all the furnishings in the tent of meeting and work for the Israelites, doing what needs to be done for the inner tent. ⁹Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. The Levites will be the only Israelites given to them. ¹⁰Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests. Anyone else who tries to do the priests’ duties must be put to death.” 

¹¹The Lord said to Moses, 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, ¹³because 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.” 

¹⁴The 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.” ¹⁶So Moses did what the Lord said and registered them as he had been commanded. 

¹⁷Gershon, Kohath, and Merari were the sons of Levi. 

¹⁸Libni and Shimei were the sons of Gershon. Their families were named after them. 

¹⁹Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel were the sons of Kohath. Their families were named after them. 

²⁰Mahli and Mushi were the sons of Merari. Their families were named after them. 

These were the households of Levite families. 

²¹To Gershon belonged the families descended from Libni and Shimei. These were the families descended from Gershon. ²²The total number of all the males at least one month old was 7,500. ²³The families descended from Gershon put up their tents on the west side behind the tent of meeting. ²⁴The leader of the Gershonite households was Eliasaph, son of Lael. ²⁵At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were in charge of the inner tent, the outer tent and cover, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, ²⁶the curtains for the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the inner tent and the altar, and the ropes. They took care of all these things. 

²⁷To Kohath belonged the families descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. These were the families descended from Kohath. ²⁸The number of all the males at least one month old was 8,600. They were in charge of the holy place. ²⁹The families descended from Kohath put up their tents on the south side of the tent of meeting. ³⁰The leader of the Kohathite families and households was Elizaphan, son of Uzziel. ³¹They were in charge of the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the utensils used in the holy place, and the screen. They took care of all these things. 

³²The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron. It was Eleazar’s duty to supervise those who were in charge of the holy place. 

³³To Merari belonged the families descended from Mahli and Mushi. These were the families descended from Merari. ³⁴The total number of all the males at least one month old was 6,200. ³⁵The leader of the Merarite families and households was Zuriel, son of Abihail. They put up their tents on the north side of the tent of meeting. ³⁶It was the duty of the Merarites to be in charge of the framework of the inner tent, the crossbars, posts, sockets, and all the equipment. They took care of all these things. ³⁷They also took care of the posts for the surrounding courtyard, the bases, pegs, and ropes. 

³⁸Moses, Aaron, and his sons put up their tents on the east side in front of the tent of meeting. They were in charge of the holy place on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who tried to do the Levites’ duties had to be put to death. 

³⁹The grand total of Levites that Moses and Aaron counted at the Lord’s command, by families, every male who was at least one month old, was 22,000. 

⁴⁰The Lord said to Moses, “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites who is at least one month old, and make a list of their names. ⁴¹I am the Lord. Take the Levites for me to be substitutes for all firstborn Israelites. Also take the animals of the Levites to be substitutes for all firstborn animals of the Israelites.” 

⁴²So Moses registered all the firstborn Israelites as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³The total of all the firstborn males at least one month old was 22,273. They were listed by name. 

⁴⁴The Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵“Take the Levites to be substitutes for all the firstborn Israelites and the animals of the Levites to be substitutes for their animals. The Levites will be mine. I am the Lord. ⁴⁶There are 273 more firstborn male Israelites than there are Levites. ⁴⁷It will cost you two ounces of silver per person (using the standard weight of the holy place) to buy them back. ⁴⁸Give the silver to Aaron and his sons. It will buy back those Israelites who outnumber the Levites.” 

⁴⁹So Moses took this ransom money from the Israelites who outnumbered the Levites. ⁵⁰The silver Moses collected for the firstborn Israelites weighed 34 pounds, using the standard weight of the holy place. ⁵¹Then Moses did what the Lord said and gave Aaron and his sons this ransom money as he had been commanded. 

4TH CHAPTER

The Duties of the Families Descended From Levi’s Sons

¹The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²“Take a census of the Levites who are descended from Kohath. List them by families and households. ³Register all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who are qualified to work at the tent of meeting. 

⁴“This is the work the Kohathites will do in the tent of meeting: They will take care of the most holy things. ⁵When the camp is supposed to move, Aaron and his sons will go in and take down the canopy that hangs over the ark containing the words of God’s promise. First they will cover the ark with the canopy. ⁶Over this they will put a covering of fine leather.On top of that they will spread a cloth made entirely of violet material. Then they will put the poles in place. 

⁷“They will spread a violet cloth over the table of the presence and put on it the plates, dishes, bowls, and pitchers for the wine offerings. The bread that is always in the Lord’s presence will also be on it. ⁸They will spread a bright red cloth over everything on the table. They will cover all this with fine leather. Then they will put the poles in place. 

⁹“They will take a violet cloth and cover the lamp stand, as well as the lamps, tongs, trays, and all the containers for the olive oil used in the lamps. ¹⁰Then they will put the lamp stand and all its utensils under a covering of fine leather and put them on a frame to carry them. 

¹¹“They will spread a violet cloth over the gold altar and cover the cloth with fine leather. Then they will put the poles in place. 

¹²“They will take all the articles that are used in the holy place, put them in a violet cloth, cover that with fine leather, and put them on a frame to carry them. 

¹³“After they take the ashes away, they will spread a purple cloth over the altar. ¹⁴Next, they will put all the accessories used at the altar on it. These are the trays, forks, shovels, and bowls—all the altar’s accessories. They will spread a covering of fine leather over all this. Then they will put the poles in place. 

¹⁵“When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy things and the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites will come to carry all the holy articles. They must never touch the holy things, or they will die. The Kohathites will carry all the things from the tent of meeting. 

¹⁶“Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron, will be in charge of the oil for the lamps, the sweet-smelling incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He is in charge of the whole tent and everything in it, the holy place and its contents.” 

¹⁷The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ¹⁸“Don’t let the Kohathite families from Levi’s tribe be destroyed. ¹⁹This is what you must do so that they won’t die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons will go into the holy place and tell each man what he will do and what he will carry. ²⁰But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.” 

²¹The Lord said to Moses, ²²“Also take a census of the Gershonites. List them by households and families. ²³Register all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who are qualified to serve at the tent of meeting. 

²⁴“This is what the Gershonite families will do and what they will carry: ²⁵They will carry the sheets that are part of the inner tent and the tent of meeting. They will also carry the inner cover for the tent of meeting, the outer cover of fine leather that goes over it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, ²⁶the curtains for the courtyard around the tent and the altar, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes, and all the equipment used to set up the curtains. The Gershonites will do everything that needs to be done with these things. ²⁷All their work, whatever they carry and all their duties, will be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You are in charge of telling them everything they’re supposed to carry. ²⁸This is the work of the Gershonite families in the tent of meeting. Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron, will be in charge of…