1 N ow these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

These are the people of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.

2 T hese then are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

The names of the sons of Aaron are Nadab the first-born, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

3 T hese are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the chosen religious leaders. Aaron set them apart to work as religious leaders.

4 B ut 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. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron.

But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they made a fire that was not holy to the Lord in the Desert of Sinai. And they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar worked as religious leaders during the life-time of their father Aaron. The Levites Serve in the Meeting Tent

5 T hen the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

6 “ Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.

“Bring the family of Levi near. Set them in front of Aaron the religious leader so they may serve him.

7 T hey shall perform the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle.

They will do the duties for him and for all the people in front of the meeting tent. They will do the work around the meeting tent,

8 T hey shall also keep all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

and will keep all the things that belong to the meeting tent. They will take care of the duties for the people of Israel as they work around the meeting tent.

9 Y ou shall thus give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the sons of Israel.

You will give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They are all given to him from among the people of Israel.

10 S o you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that they may keep their priesthood, but the layman who comes near shall be put to death.”

Set apart Aaron and his sons to do the work of religious leaders. But if anyone comes near who is not a religious leader, he must be put to death.”

11 A gain the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The Lord said to Moses,

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.

“See, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every first-born among the people of Israel. The Levites will be Mine.

13 F or 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.”

For all the first-born are Mine. On the day that I killed all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I set apart for My own all the first-born in Israel, both man and animal. They will be Mine. I am the Lord.” The Levites Are Numbered

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

Then the Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai,

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

“Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses and by their families. Number every male a month old and older.”

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

So Moses numbered them just as he had been told by the word of the Lord.

17 T hese then are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.

The names of the sons of Levi are Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

18 T hese are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei;

The names of the sons of Gershon by their families are Libni and Shimei.

19 a nd the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel;

The sons of Kohath by their families are Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

20 a nd the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.

The sons of Merari by their families are Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ houses.

21 O f Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites.

Of Gershon were the families of the Libnites and the Shimeites. These were the families of the Gershonites.

22 T heir numbered men, in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, even their numbered men were 7, 500.

The number of their men, every male a month old and older, was 7, 500.

23 T he families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward,

The families of the Gershonites were to set up their tents behind the meeting tent on the west side.

24 a nd the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. Duties of the Priests

The leader of the fathers’ houses of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

25 N ow the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting,

The sons of Gershon were to take care of the meeting tent, its covering, and the curtain for the door of the meeting tent.

26 a nd the hangings of the court, and the screen for the doorway of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords, according to all the service concerning them.

And they were to take care of the curtains for the door of the open space, and all curtains around the meeting tent and the altar and their ropes. They did all the work having to do with them.

27 O f Kohath was the family of the Amramites and the family of the Izharites and the family of the Hebronites and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites.

Of Kohath were the families of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites. These were the families of the Kohathites.

28 I n the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8, 600, performing the duties of the sanctuary.

The number of every male a month old and older was 8, 600. They did the duties of the holy place.

29 T he families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the southward side of the tabernacle,

The families of the sons of Kohath were to set up their tents on the south side of the meeting tent.

30 a nd the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

The leader of the fathers’ houses of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

31 N ow their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the screen, and all the service concerning them;

They took care of the special box with the Law, and the table, the lamp-stand, the altars, the things used in the holy place, and the curtain. They did all the work having to do with them.

32 a nd Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the chief of the leaders of Levi, and had the oversight of those who perform the duties of the sanctuary.

Eleazar, the son of Aaron the religious leader, was the head of the leaders of Levi. He watched over those who did the duties of the holy place.

33 O f Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari.

Of Merari were the families of the Mahlites and the Mushites. These were the families of Merari.

34 T heir numbered men in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, were 6, 200.

The number of their men, every male a month old and older, was 6, 200.

35 T he leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the northward side of the tabernacle.

The leader of the fathers’ houses of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to set up their tents on the north side of the meeting tent.

36 N ow the appointed duties of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its equipment, and the service concerning them,

The duties given to the sons of Merari were to take care of the parts made of wood of the meeting tent, its cross pieces, its pillars, its bases, and all the pieces that had to do with them. They took care of all these things,

37 a nd the pillars around the court with their sockets and their pegs and their cords.

and of the pillars around the open space and their bases and their nails and their ropes.

38 N ow those who were to camp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; but the layman coming near was to be put to death.

Moses and Aaron and his sons were to set up their tents on the east side in front of the meeting tent, toward the sunrise. They did the duties of the meeting tent, whatever had to be done for the people of Israel. But the one who came near who was not a religious leader was to be put to death.

39 A ll the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the command of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22, 000. Firstborn Redeemed

The number of all the Levite men a month old and older, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by their families as the Lord told them, was 22, 000. Levites Take the Place of First-Born Sons

40 T hen the Lord said to Moses, “ Number every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and make a list of their names.

The Lord said to Moses, “Number every first-born male of the sons of Israel a month old and older. Write down their names.

41 Y ou 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 instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.”

Take the Levites for Me, instead of all the first-born among the sons of Israel. I am the Lord. And take the cattle of the Levites instead of all the first-born among the cattle of the people of Israel.”

42 S o Moses numbered all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded him;

So Moses numbered all the first-born among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had told him.

43 a nd all the firstborn males by the number of names from a month old and upward, for their numbered men were 22, 273.

The number of names of all the first-born males a month old and older was 22, 273.

44 T hen the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Then the Lord said to Moses,

45 “ Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel and the cattle of the Levites. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the Lord.

“Take the Levites instead of all the first-born sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites. The number of the Levites will be Mine. I am the Lord.

46 F or the ransom of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites,

There are 273 first-born of the sons of Israel, who are more in number than the Levites. You must pay the price for each of them.

47 y ou shall take five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary ( the shekel is twenty gerahs),

Take five pieces of silver for each, by the weight of silver agreed upon for the meeting tent.

48 a nd give the money, the ransom of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.”

Give the money, the price of those who are more in number than the Levites, to Aaron and his sons.”

49 S o Moses took the ransom money from those who were in excess, beyond those ransomed by the Levites;

So Moses took the money to pay for those who were more in number than the Levites.

50 f rom the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, 1, 365.

He took the money from the first-born sons of Israel, by the weight agreed upon for the meeting tent. He took 1, 365 pieces of silver.

51 T hen Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and to his sons, at the command of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Then Moses gave the money to Aaron and his sons, just as the Lord had told Moses by His Word.