Numbers 3
3
Aaron’s Family, the Priests
1This is the family history of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord talked to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2Aaron had four sons: Nadab, the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3These were the names of Aaron’s sons, who were appointed to serve as priests. 4But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered the wrong kind of fire before the Lord in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons. So 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 present them to Aaron the priest to help him. 7They will help him and all the Israelites at the Meeting Tent, doing the work in the Holy Tent. 8The Levites must take care of everything in the Meeting Tent and serve the people of Israel by doing the work in the Holy Tent. 9Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; of all the Israelites, the Levites are given completely to him. 10Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests, but anyone else who comes near the holy things must be put to death.”
11The Lord also said to Moses, 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, 13because 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.”
14The 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.” 16So Moses obeyed the Lord and counted them all.
17Levi had three sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18The Gershonite family groups were Libni and Shimei.
19The Kohathite family groups were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20The Merarite family groups were Mahli and Mushi.
These were the family groups of the Levites.
21The family groups of Libni and Shimei belonged to Gershon; they were the Gershonite family groups. 22The number that was counted was 7,500 males one month old or older. 23The Gershonite family groups camped on the west side, behind the Holy Tent. 24The leader of the families of Gershon was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25In the Meeting Tent the Gershonites were in charge of the Holy Tent, its covering, the curtain at the entrance to the Meeting Tent, 26the curtains in the courtyard, the curtain at the entry to the courtyard around the Holy Tent and the altar, the ropes, and all the work connected with these items.
27The family groups of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel belonged to Kohath; they were the Kohathite family groups. 28They had 8,600 males one month old or older, and they were responsible for taking care of the Holy Place. 29The Kohathite family groups camped south of the Holy Tent. 30The leader of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31They were responsible for the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the tools of the Holy Place which they were to use, the curtain, and all the work connected with these items. 32The main leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, who was in charge of all those responsible for the Holy Place.
33The family groups of Mahli and Mushi belonged to Merari; they were the Merarite family groups. 34The number that was counted was 6,200 males one month old or older. 35The leader of the Merari families was Zuriel son of Abihail, and they were to camp north of the Holy Tent. 36The Merarites were responsible for the frames of the Holy Tent, the braces, the posts, the bases, and all the work connected with these items. 37They were also responsible for the posts in the courtyard around the Holy Tent and their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
38Moses, Aaron, and his sons camped east of the Holy Tent, toward the sunrise, in front of the Meeting Tent. They were responsible for the Holy Place for the Israelites. Anyone else who came near the Holy Place was to be put to death.
39Moses and Aaron counted the Levite men by their families, as the Lord commanded, and there were 22,000 males one month old or older.
Levites Take the Place of the Firstborn Sons
40The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn sons in Israel one month old or older, and list their names. 41Take the Levites for me instead of the firstborn sons of Israel; take the animals of the Levites instead of the firstborn animals from the rest of Israel. I am the Lord.”
42So Moses did what the Lord commanded and counted all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. 43When he listed all the firstborn sons one month old or older, there were 22,273 names.
44The Lord also said to Moses, 45“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites, and take the animals of the Levites instead of the animals of the other people. The Levites are mine. I am the Lord. 46Since there are 273 more firstborn sons than Levites, 47collect two ounces of silver for each of the 273 sons. Use the measure as set by the Holy Place, which is two-fifths of an ounce. 48Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the payment for the 273 Israelites.”
49So Moses collected the money for the people the Levites could not replace. 50From the firstborn of the Israelites, he collected thirty-five pounds of silver, using the measure set by the Holy Place. 51Moses obeyed the command of the Lord and gave the silver to Aaron and his sons.
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Numbers 3: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.