3 This is the list of the family of Aaron and Moses. This was at the time when the Lord spoke to Moses on Sinai mountain.
2 The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Nadab was the firstborn son. 3 Aaron anointed them, and he gave authority to them to work as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu fell down and died in front of the Lord . That happened when they offered strange fire to the Lord in the Sinai desert. [ a ] They had no children. So only Eleazar and Ithamar worked as priests while their father Aaron was alive.
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, 6 ‘Bring the tribe of Levi to Aaron the priest. They must help him. 7 They must serve him and all the Israelites. They must work at the Tent of Meeting and take care of it. 8 They must work on behalf of the Israelites. They must take care of the things that are in the Tent of Meeting. That is how they will serve God. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and to his descendants. They will be the Israelites who help him. They do not have to do anything else. 10 But you must make a list of Aaron and his descendants. They will be the priests. If any other person comes near to the special Tent, they must die.’
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 ‘I will not take the firstborn son of every woman in Israel to belong to me. I will take the Levites instead of them. 13 I killed all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. But I kept the firstborn sons of every person and animal among the Israelites for myself. They belong to me. I am the Lord !’
14 The Lord said to Moses in the Sinai desert, 15 ‘Put the Levites into clans and families and count them. Make a list of every male who is a month old or older.’ 16 Moses obeyed the Lord . So Moses recorded them as the Lord said.
17 The names of the sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
18 Gershon had two sons. Their names were Libni and Shimei.
19 Kohath's sons were called Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20 Merari's sons were called Mahli and Mushi.
Those were the sons and grandsons of Levi. They became the leaders of the clans of Levi's tribe.
21 There were two families in Gershon's clan. They were the families of Libni and Shimei. 22 There were 7,500 males who were one month or older in their list. 23 Gershon's clan had to put up their tents on the west side of the special Tent. 24 The leader of the clan of Gershon was Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25 Gershon's clan had to take care of the Tent of Meeting, with the cloth that covered it, and the curtain at its door. 26 There was a yard round the outside of the tabernacle and the altar. Gershon's family took care of the curtains that hung round the yard, with their ropes. They also took care of the curtain at the entrance to the yard. They took care of all those kinds of things.
27 There were four families in Kohath's clan. They were the families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 28 There were 8,600 males who were one month old or older in this clan. They had to take care of the things inside the special Tent. 29 Kohath's clan had to put up their tents on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 The leader of Kohath's descendants was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31 Kohath's family had to take care of the Covenant Box, the table and the lampstands. They had to take care of the altars and the tools that the priests used in the special Tent. They also took care of the curtain in front of the Most Holy Place in the Tent. They did all the work with those things.
32 Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, was the most important leader of the Levites. He ruled over those people who took care of God's special Tent.
33 There were two families in Merari's clan. They were the families of Mahli and Mushi. 34 There were 6,200 males in that list. They were one month old or older when Moses counted them. 35 The leader of Merari's clan was Zuriel, the son of Abihail. They had to put up their tents on the north side of the special tabernacle.
36 Merari's family had to take care of all the wood parts of the tabernacle. They took care of the heavy things that stood on the ground to hold the poles. 37 They also took care of the poles that held the cloth round the yard, their ropes and other things that held the Tent in its place.
38 Moses, Aaron and Aaron's sons had to put up their tents in front of the tabernacle, on the east side. They were the only people who could go into the Holy Place in the Tent. Any other person who went near it had to die.
39 So Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord . They counted the Levites by their clans. There were 22,000 males who were one month old or older.
40 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Record all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. Record every male who is one month old or older. Make a list of their names. 41 The Israelites' firstborn sons belong to me. I am the Lord . But I will accept all the males among the Levites instead. The Israelites' firstborn animals also belong to me. But I will accept the animals of the Levites instead.’
42 So Moses counted all the firstborn males among the Israelites as the Lord had said. 43 He counted 22,273 firstborn males who were one month old or older. He made a list of their names.
44 Then the Lord said to Moses, 45 ‘Do not take the firstborn males among the people to belong to me. Accept the Levites instead. Do not use the firstborn animals of the people. Accept the animals of the Levites instead. The Levites will belong to me. I am the Lord . 46 There are 273 more firstborn males of the people than there are Levites. So the people must pay for the extra firstborn sons. 47 You must accept five shekels for each extra firstborn male. The shekel must have the same weight as the shekel that the Levites use in God's tabernacle. There are 20 gerahs in one shekel. 48 Give that money to Aaron and his sons.’
49 So Moses took the money to buy back the extra 273 firstborn sons. That was because the number of firstborn sons was more than the number of Levites. 50 He took 1,365 shekels from them. The shekels had the same weight as the shekel that the Levites used in God's tabernacle. 51 Moses did what the Lord had told him to do. He gave the money to Aaron and his sons.
3 This is the family history of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord talked to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 Aaron had four sons. Nadab was the firstborn son. Then there were Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These sons were the chosen [ a ] priests. They were given the special work of serving the Lord as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died while serving the Lord . They used fire that the Lord did not allow when they made an offering to him. So Nadab and Abihu died there, in the desert of Sinai. They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar took their place and served the Lord as priests. This happened while their father Aaron was still alive.
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Bring all the men from the tribe of Levi. Bring them to Aaron the priest. These men will be his helpers. 7 The Levites will help him when he serves at the Meeting Tent. And they will help all the Israelites when they come to worship at the Holy Tent. 8 The Israelites should protect everything in the Meeting Tent; it is their duty. But the Levites will serve the Israelites by caring for these things. This will be their way of serving at the Holy Tent.
9 “Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. The Levites were chosen from all the Israelites to help Aaron and his sons.
10 “Appoint Aaron and his sons to be priests. They must do their duty and serve as priests. Anyone else who tries to come near the holy things [ b ] must be killed.”
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12-13 “I destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt. At that time I chose all the firstborn from every family in Israel to be mine in a special way. That included all the firstborn men and animals. But now I am choosing the Levites to take their place. Now they will be my special servants. I, the Lord , give this command!”
14 The Lord again said to Moses in the desert of Sinai, 15 “Count all the families and family groups in the tribe of Levi. Count every man or boy who is one month old or older.” 16 So Moses obeyed the Lord . He counted them all.
17 Levi had three sons. Their names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 Each son was the leader of several family groups.
The Gershon family groups were Libni and Shimei.
19 The Kohath family groups were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 The Merari family groups were Mahli and Mushi.
These are the families that belonged to Levi’s family group.
21 The families of Libni and Shimei belonged to the family of Gershon. They were the Gershonite family groups. 22 There were 7500 men and boys over one month old in these two family groups. 23 The Gershonite family groups were told to camp in the west. They made their camp behind the Holy Tent. 24 The leader of the family groups of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 In the Meeting Tent, the Gershonites had the job of taking care of the Holy Tent, the outer tent, and the covering. They also took care of the curtain at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 26 They cared for the curtain in the courtyard. And they cared for the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. This courtyard was around the Holy Tent and the altar. And they cared for the ropes and for everything that was used with the curtains.
27 The families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel belonged to the family of Kohath. They were the Kohathite family groups. 28 In this family group there were 8300 [ c ] men and boys a month old or over. The Kohathites were given the job of taking care of the things in the Holy Place. 29 The Kohathite family groups were given the area to the south of the Holy Tent. This was the area where they camped. 30 The leader of the Kohathite family groups was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 Their job was to take care of the Holy Box, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the dishes of the Holy Place. They also cared for the curtain and all the things that were used with the curtain.
32 The leader over the leaders of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. Eleazar was in charge of everyone who took care of the holy things.
33-34 The family groups of Mahli and Mushi belonged to the Merari family. There were 6200 men and boys who were one month old or older in the Mahli family group. 35 The leader of the Merari family group was Zuriel son of Abihail. This family group was given the area to the north of the Holy Tent. This is the area where they camped. 36 The people from the Merari family were given the job of caring for the frames of the Holy Tent. They cared for all the braces, posts, bases, and everything that was used with the frames of the Holy Tent. 37 They also cared for all the posts in the courtyard around the Holy Tent. This included all the bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons camped east of the Holy Tent, in front of the Meeting Tent. They were given the work of caring for the Holy Place. They did this for all the Israelites. Anyone else who came near the Holy Place was to be killed.
39 The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to count all the men and boys one month old or older in Levi’s family group. The total number was 22,000.
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn men and boys in Israel who are at least one month old. Write their names on a list. 41 I am the Lord . I will take the Levites instead of all the firstborn men and boys of Israel. I will also take the animals from the Levites instead of taking all the firstborn animals from the other people in Israel.”
42 So Moses did what the Lord commanded. He counted all the firstborn children of the Israelites. 43 He listed all the firstborn men and boys who were one month old or older. There were 22,273 names on that list.
44 The Lord also said to Moses, 45 “I, the Lord , give this command: ‘Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn men from the other families of Israel. And I will take the animals of the Levites instead of the animals of the other people. The Levites are mine. 46 There are 22,000 Levites, but there are 22,273 firstborn sons from the other families. This leaves 273 more firstborn sons than Levites. 47 Using the official measure, collect five shekels [ d ] of silver for each of the 273 people. (The shekel by the official measure weighs 20 gerahs. [ e ] ) Collect that silver from the Israelites. 48 Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as payment for the 273 Israelites.’”
49 There were not enough Levites to take the place of all the men from the other family groups, so Moses gathered the money for them. 50 Moses collected the silver from the firstborn men of the Israelites. He collected 1365 shekels [ f ] of silver, using the official measure. 51 Moses obeyed the Lord ’s command and gave the silver to Aaron and his sons. He did it just as the Lord had told him.
3 These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spake with Moses in mount Sinai.
2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.
4 And Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord , when they offered strange fire before the Lord , in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the sight of Aaron their father.
5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.
7 And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.
8 And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9 And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.
10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
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.
17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.
18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei.
19 And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.
21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.
22 Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them were seven thousand and five hundred.
23 The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward.
24 And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
26 And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.
27 And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.
28 In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.
29 The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.
30 And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31 And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.
32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.
34 And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.
35 And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.
36 And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,
37 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
38 But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
39 All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord , throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.
40 And the Lord said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.
41 And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the Lord ) 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.
42 And Moses numbered, as the Lord commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
43 And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.
44 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
45 Take 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 the Lord .
46 And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites;
47 Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:)
48 And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.
49 And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites:
50 Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
51 And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the Lord , as the Lord commanded Moses.
3 ( A ) Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 ( B ) These then are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the ( C ) anointed priests, whom he [ a ] ordained to serve as priests. 4 ( D ) But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered [ b ] strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests [ c ] in the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “ ( E ) Bring the tribe of Levi forward and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 They shall perform the duties for [ d ] him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, to do the ( F ) service of the tabernacle. 8 They shall also take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9 So you shall ( G ) assign the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are exclusively assigned to him from the sons of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that ( H ) they may [ e ] keep their priesthood, but ( I ) the [ f ] layman who comes near shall be put to death.”
11 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Now, behold, I ( J ) have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every ( K ) firstborn, the firstborn of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. 13 For ( L ) all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from the human firstborn to animals. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord .”
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses ( M ) in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “ [ g ] ( N ) Count the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall count.” 16 So Moses counted them according to the [ h ] word of the Lord , just as he had been commanded. 17 ( O ) These, then, are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the ( P ) sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; 19 and the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel; 20 and the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.
21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22 Their numbered men, in the counting of every male from a month old and upward, their numbered men were 7,500. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the [ i ] tabernacle westward, 24 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites: Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25 Now ( Q ) the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle and ( R ) the tent, its covering, and ( S ) the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 and ( T ) the curtains of the courtyard, ( U ) the curtain for the entrance of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its ropes, according to all the service [ j ] concerning them.
27 Of Kohath was 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 In the counting of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, performing the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families: [ k ] Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31 Now ( V ) their duties included ( W ) the ark, ( X ) the table, ( Y ) the lampstand, ( Z ) the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, the [ l ] curtain, and all the service [ m ] concerning them; 32 and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the head of the leaders of Levi, and he had the supervision of those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.
33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. 34 Their numbered men in the counting of every male from a month old and upward: 6,200. 35 And the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to ( AA ) camp on the northward side of the tabernacle. 36 Now the appointment of duties of the sons of Merari included the framework of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, all its equipment, and all the service concerning them, 37 and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases, their pegs, and their ropes.
38 Now those who were to ( AB ) camp in front of the tabernacle eastward, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; but ( AC ) the [ n ] layman coming near was to be put to death. 39 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the [ o ] command of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were ( AD ) twenty-two thousand.
40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “ ( AE ) Count every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and [ p ] make a list of their names. 41 And you ( AF ) shall take the Levites for Me—I am the Lord —instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.” 42 So Moses counted all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded him; 43 and all the firstborn males, by the number of names from a month old and upward for their numbered men, were ( AG ) 22,273.
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “ ( AH ) Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the Lord . 46 ( AI ) And as [ q ] a redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess of the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take ( AJ ) five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in ( AK ) terms of the shekel of the sanctuary ( ( AL ) the shekel is twenty [ r ] gerahs), 48 and you shall give the money, the redemption price of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were in excess of the number of those redeemed by the Levites; 50 from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, 1,365. 51 Then Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, at the [ s ] command of the Lord , just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
3 This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses ( A ) at the time the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai. ( B )
2 The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn ( C ) and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ( D ) 3 Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, ( E ) who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu, however, died before the Lord ( F ) when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. ( G ) They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar ( H ) served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron. ( I )
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi ( J ) and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. ( K ) 7 They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community ( L ) at the tent of meeting by doing the work ( M ) of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; ( N ) they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him. [ a ] 10 Appoint Aaron ( O ) and his sons to serve as priests; ( P ) anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.” ( Q )
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 “I have taken the Levites ( R ) from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring ( S ) of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, ( T ) 13 for all the firstborn are mine. ( U ) 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 .” ( V )
14 The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, ( W ) 15 “Count ( X ) the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more.” ( Y ) 16 So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord .
17 These were the names of the sons of Levi: ( Z )
Gershon, ( AA ) Kohath ( AB ) and Merari. ( AC )
18 These were the names of the Gershonite clans:
Libni and Shimei. ( AD )
19 The Kohathite clans:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. ( AE )
20 The Merarite clans: ( AF )
Mahli and Mushi. ( AG )
These were the Levite clans, according to their families.
21 To Gershon ( AH ) belonged the clans of the Libnites and Shimeites; ( AI ) these were the Gershonite clans. 22 The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500. 23 The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle. ( AJ ) 24 The leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the tabernacle ( AK ) and tent, its coverings, ( AL ) the curtain at the entrance ( AM ) to the tent of meeting, ( AN ) 26 the curtains of the courtyard ( AO ) , the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, ( AP ) and the ropes ( AQ ) —and everything ( AR ) related to their use.
27 To Kohath ( AS ) belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites; ( AT ) these were the Kohathite ( AU ) clans. 28 The number of all the males a month old or more ( AV ) was 8,600. [ b ] The Kohathites were responsible ( AW ) for the care of the sanctuary. ( AX ) 29 The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side ( AY ) of the tabernacle. 30 The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan ( AZ ) son of Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the care of the ark, ( BA ) the table, ( BB ) the lampstand, ( BC ) the altars, ( BD ) the articles ( BE ) of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain, ( BF ) and everything related to their use. ( BG ) 32 The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar ( BH ) son of Aaron, the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible ( BI ) for the care of the sanctuary. ( BJ )
33 To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites; ( BK ) these were the Merarite clans. ( BL ) 34 The number of all the males a month old or more ( BM ) who were counted was 6,200. 35 The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ( BN ) 36 The Merarites were appointed ( BO ) to take care of the frames of the tabernacle, ( BP ) its crossbars, ( BQ ) posts, ( BR ) bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use, ( BS ) 37 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard ( BT ) with their bases, tent pegs ( BU ) and ropes.
38 Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east ( BV ) of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the tent of meeting. ( BW ) They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary ( BX ) on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death. ( BY )
39 The total number of Levites counted ( BZ ) at the Lord ’s command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000. ( CA )
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn Israelite males who are a month old or more ( CB ) and make a list of their names. ( CC ) 41 Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, ( CD ) and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the Lord .” ( CE )
42 So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. 43 The total number of firstborn males a month old or more, ( CF ) listed by name, was 22,273. ( CG )
44 The Lord also said to Moses, 45 “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 to be mine. ( CH ) I am the Lord . ( CI ) 46 To redeem ( CJ ) the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 47 collect five shekels [ c ] ( CK ) for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel, ( CL ) which weighs twenty gerahs. ( CM ) 48 Give the money for the redemption ( CN ) of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons.” ( CO )
49 So Moses collected the redemption money ( CP ) from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelites ( CQ ) he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels, [ d ] ( CR ) according to the sanctuary shekel. 51 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord .
