Numbers 3:15-40

New American Standard Bible

¹⁵ “^[a](A)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 ^[b]word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded. ^17 (B)These, then, are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ And these are the names of the ^(C)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 ^[c]tabernacle westward, ²⁴ and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites: Eliasaph the son of Lael.

Duties of the Levites

²⁵ Now ^(D)the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle and ^(E)the tent, its covering, and ^(F)the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ²⁶ and ^(G)the curtains of the courtyard, ^(H)the curtain for the entrance of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its ropes, according to all the service ^[d]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: ^[e]Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹ Now ^(I)their duties included ^(J)the ark, ^(K)the table, ^(L)the lampstand, ^(M)the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, the ^[f]curtain, and all the service ^[g]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 ^(N)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 ^(O)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 ^(P)the ^[h]layman coming near was to be put to death. ³⁹ All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the ^[i]command of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were ^(Q)twenty-two thousand.

Firstborn Redeemed

⁴⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “^(R)Count every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and ^[j]make a list of their names.