¹¹ Raising his hands, Aaron must then present the Levites to the Lord as a special offering from the people of Israel, thus dedicating them to the Lord’s service.

³⁰ Present it to the Lord with your own hands as a special gift to the Lord. Bring the fat of the animal, together with the breast, and lift up the breast as a special offering to the Lord.

²⁰ Then the priest will lift them up as a special offering before the Lord. These are holy portions for the priest, along with the breast of the special offering and the thigh of the sacred offering that are lifted up before the Lord. After this ceremony the Nazirites may again drink wine.

⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Call forward the tribe of Levi, and present them to Aaron the priest to serve as his assistants. ⁷ They will serve Aaron and the whole community, performing their sacred duties in and around the Tabernacle.^{[a] 8} They will also maintain all the furnishings of the sacred tent,^[b] serving in the Tabernacle on behalf of all the Israelites. ⁹ Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They have been given from among all the people of Israel to serve as their assistants. ¹⁰ Appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “Look, I have chosen the Levites from among the Israelites to serve as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me, ¹³ for all the firstborn males are mine. On the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both of people and of animals. They are mine; I am the Lord.”

Registration of the Levites

¹⁴ The Lord spoke again to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. He said, ¹⁵ “Record the names of the members of the tribe of Levi by their families and clans. List every male who is one month old or older.” ¹⁶ So Moses listed them, just as the Lord had commanded.

¹⁷ Levi had three sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁸ The clans descended from Gershon were named after two of his descendants, Libni and Shimei.

¹⁹ The clans descended from Kohath were named after four of his descendants, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁰ The clans descended from Merari were named after two of his descendants, Mahli and Mushi.

These were the Levite clans, listed according to their family groups.

²¹ The descendants of Gershon were composed of the clans descended from Libni and Shimei. ²² There were 7,500 males one month old or older among these Gershonite clans. ²³ They were assigned the area to the west of the Tabernacle for their camp. ²⁴ The leader of the Gershonite clans was Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵ These two clans were responsible to care for the Tabernacle, including the sacred tent with its layers of coverings, the curtain at its entrance, ²⁶ the curtains of the courtyard that surrounded the Tabernacle and altar, the curtain at the courtyard entrance, the ropes, and all the equipment related to their use.

²⁷ The descendants of Kohath were composed of the clans descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁸ There were 8,600^[c] males one month old or older among these Kohathite clans. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary, ²⁹ and they were assigned the area south of the Tabernacle for their camp. ³⁰ The leader of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹ These four clans were responsible for the care of the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the various articles used in the sanctuary, the inner curtain, and all the equipment related to their use. ³² Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, was the chief administrator over all the Levites, with special responsibility for the oversight of the sanctuary.

³³ The descendants of Merari were composed of the clans descended from Mahli and Mushi. ³⁴ There were 6,200 males one month old or older among these Merarite clans. ³⁵ They were assigned the area north of the Tabernacle for their camp. The leader of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail. ³⁶ These two clans were responsible for the care of the frames supporting the Tabernacle, the crossbars, the pillars, the bases, and all the equipment related to their use. ³⁷ They were also responsible for the posts of the courtyard and all their bases, pegs, and ropes.

³⁸ The area in front of the Tabernacle, in the east toward the sunrise,^[d] was reserved for the tents of Moses and of Aaron and his sons, who had the final responsibility for the sanctuary on behalf of the people of Israel. Anyone other than a priest or Levite who went too near the sanctuary was to be put to death.

³⁹ When Moses and Aaron counted the Levite clans at the Lord’s command, the total number was 22,000 males one month old or older.

Redeeming the Firstborn Sons

⁴⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now count all the firstborn sons in Israel who are one month old or older, and make a list of their names. ⁴¹ The Levites must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn sons of Israel; I am the Lord. And the Levites’ livestock must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the whole nation of Israel.”

⁴² So Moses counted the firstborn sons of the people of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded. ⁴³ The number of firstborn sons who were one month old or older was 22,273.

⁴⁹ “Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of the Israelites. ⁵⁰ Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant,^[a] along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. ⁵¹ Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the Tabernacle must be put to death. ⁵² Each tribe of Israel will camp in a designated area with its own family banner. ⁵³ But the Levites will camp around the Tabernacle of the Covenant to protect the community of Israel from the Lord’s anger. The Levites are responsible to stand guard around the Tabernacle.”

²⁹ Then Moses took the breast and lifted it up as a special offering to the Lord. This was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as the Lord had commanded him.

²⁷ He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and he lifted these gifts as a special offering to the Lord.

²⁴ Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons to be lifted up as a special offering to the Lord.