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Numbers 3

The Sons of Aaron

The Duties of the Levites

    ⁶Assign the Levi tribe to Aaron the priest. They will be his assistants ⁷and will work at the sacred tent for him and for all the Israelites. ⁸The Levites will serve the community by being responsible for the furnishings of the tent. ⁹They are assigned to help Aaron and his sons, ¹⁰who have been appointed to be priests. Anyone else who tries to perform the duties of a priest must be put to death.

    ^11-13Moses, I have chosen these Levites from all Israel, and they will belong to me in a special way. When I killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the first-born sons in every Israelite family and the first-born males of their flocks and herds would be mine. ^[c] But now I accept these Levites in place of the first-born sons of the Israelites.

The Levites Are Counted

    ¹⁷Levi's three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, had become the heads of their own clans. ¹⁸Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹Kohath's sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰And Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. These were the sons and grandsons of Levi, and they had become the leaders of the Levite clans.

    ²¹The two Gershon clans were the Libnites and Shimeites, ²²and they had seven thousand five hundred men and boys at least one month old. ²³The Gershonites were to camp on the west side of the sacred tent, ²⁴under the leadership of Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵Their duties at the tent included taking care of the tent itself, along with its outer covering, the curtain for the entrance, ²⁶the curtains hanging inside the courtyard around the tent, as well as the curtain and ropes for the entrance to the courtyard and its altar. The Gershonites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.

    ²⁷The four Kohath clans were the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and the Uzzielites, ²⁸and they had eight thousand six hundred ^[d] men and boys at least one month old. ²⁹The Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the sacred tent, ³⁰under the leadership of Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹Their duties at the tent included taking care of the sacred chest, the table for the sacred bread, the lampstand, the altars, the objects used for worship, and the curtain in front of the most holy place. The Kohathites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down. ³²Eleazar son of Aaron was the head of the Levite leaders, and he made sure that the work at the sacred tent was done.

    ³³The two Merari clans were the Mahlites and the Mushites, ³⁴and they had six thousand two hundred men and boys at least one month old. ³⁵The Merarites were to camp on the north side of the sacred tent, under the leadership of Zuriel son of Abihail. ^36-37Their duties included taking care of the tent frames and the pieces that held the tent up: the bars, the posts, the stands, and its other equipment. They were also in charge of the posts that supported the courtyard, as well as their stands, tent pegs, and ropes. The Merari clans were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.

    ³⁸Moses, Aaron, and his sons were to camp in front of the sacred tent, on the east side, and to make sure that the Israelites worshiped in the proper way. Anyone else who tried to do the work of Moses and Aaron was to be put to death.

    ³⁹So Moses and Aaron obeyed the LORD and counted the Levites by their clans. The total number of Levites at least one month old was twenty-two thousand.

The Levites Are Accepted as Substitutes for the First-Born Sons

    ⁴²Moses obeyed the LORD and counted the first-born sons; ⁴³there were 22,273 of them.

    ⁴⁴Then the LORD said, ⁴⁵" The Levites will belong to me and will take the place of the first-born sons; their livestock will take the place of the Israelites' first-born livestock. ⁴⁶But since there are more first-born sons than Levites, the extra two hundred seventy-three men and boys must be bought back from me. ⁴⁷For each one, you are to collect five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. ⁴⁸This money must then be given to Aaron and his sons."

    ⁴⁹Moses collected the silver from the extra two hundred seventy-three first-born men and boys, ⁵⁰and it amounted to one thousand three hundred sixty-five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. ⁵¹Then he gave it to Aaron and his sons, just as the LORD had commanded.

Numbers 4

The Duties of the Kohathite Clans

    ^2-3Find out how many men between the ages of thirty and fifty are in the four Levite clans of Kohath. Count only those who are able to work at the sacred tent.

    ⁴The Kohathites will be responsible for carrying the sacred objects used in worship at the sacred tent. ⁵When the Israelites are ready to move their camp, Aaron and his sons will enter the tent and take down the curtain that separates the sacred chest from the rest of the tent. They will cover the chest with this curtain, ⁶and then with a piece of fine leather, and cover it all with a solid blue cloth. After this they will put the carrying poles in place.

    ⁷Next, Aaron and his sons will use another blue cloth to cover the table for the sacred bread. ^[e] On the cloth they will place the dishes, the bowls for incense, the cups, the jugs for wine, as well as the bread itself. ⁸They are to cover all of this with a bright red cloth, and then with a piece of fine leather, before putting the carrying poles in place. ⁹With another blue cloth they will cover the lampstand, along with the lamps, the lamp snuffers, the fire pans, and the jars of oil for the lamps. ¹⁰All of this will then be covered with a piece of fine leather and placed on a carrying frame.

    ¹¹The gold incense altar ^[f] is to be covered with a blue cloth, and then with a piece of fine leather, before its carrying poles are put in place. ¹²Next, Aaron and his sons will take blue cloth and wrap all the objects used in worship at the sacred tent. These will need to be covered with a piece of fine leather, then placed on a carrying frame.

    ¹³They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and cover it with a purple cloth. ¹⁴On that cloth will be placed the utensils used at the altar, including the fire pans, the meat forks, the shovels, and the sprinkling bowls. All of this will then be covered with a piece of fine leather, before the carrying poles are put in place.

    ¹⁵When the camp is ready to be moved, the Kohathites will be responsible for carrying the sacred objects and the furnishings of the sacred tent. But Aaron and his sons must have already covered those things so the Kohathites won't touch them and die.

    ¹⁶Eleazar son of Aaron the priest will be in charge of the oil for the lamps, the sweet-smelling incense, the grain for the sacrifices, and the olive oil used for dedications and ordinations. Eleazar is responsible for seeing that the sacred tent, its furnishings, and the sacred objects are taken care of.

    ^17-20The Kohathites must not go near or even look at the sacred objects until Aaron and his sons have covered those objects. If they do, their entire clan will be wiped out. So make sure that Aaron and his sons go into the tent with them and tell them what to carry.

The Duties of the Gershonite Clans

    ^22-23Find out how many men between the ages of thirty and fifty are in the two Levite clans of Gershon. Count only those who are able to work at the sacred tent.

    ²⁴The Gershonites will be responsible ²⁵for carrying the curtains of the sacred tent, its two outer coverings, ^[g] the curtain for the entrance to the tent, ²⁶the curtains hanging around the courtyard of the tent, and the curtain and ropes for the entrance to the courtyard. The Gershonites are to do whatever needs to be done to take care of these things, ²⁷and they will carry them wherever Aaron and his sons tell them to. ²⁸These are the duties of the Gershonites at the sacred tent, and Ithamar son of Aaron will make sure they do their work.

The Duties of the Merarite Clans

   Moses, find out how many men between thirty and fifty are in the two Levite clans of Merari, but count only those who are able to work at the sacred tent.

    ³¹The Merarites will be responsible for carrying the frames of the tent and its other pieces, including the bars, the posts, the stands, ³²as well as the posts that support the courtyard, together with their stands, tent pegs, and ropes. The Merarites are to be told exactly what objects they are to carry, ³³and Ithamar son of Aaron will make sure they do their work.

The Levites Are Counted Again

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Jesus and the Ruler of Demons

(Matthew 12.22-32; Luke 11.14-23; 12.10)

    ²²Some teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem and said, "This man is under the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons! He is even forcing out demons with the help of Beelzebul."

    ²³Jesus told the people to gather around him. Then he spoke to them in riddles and said:

   How can Satan force himself out? ²⁴A nation whose people fight each other won't last very long. ²⁵And a family that fights won't last long either. ²⁶So if Satan fights against himself, that will be the end of him.

    ²⁷How can anyone break into the house of a strong man and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.

    ²⁸I promise you that any of the sinful things you say or do can be forgiven, no matter how terrible those things are. ²⁹But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven. That sin will be held against you forever.

    ³⁰Jesus said this because the people were saying that he had an evil spirit in him.

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

(Matthew 12.46-50; Luke 8.19-21)

    ³³Jesus asked, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" ³⁴Then he looked at the people sitting around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. ³⁵Anyone who obeys God is my brother or sister or mother."