Numbers 3:40-51

Evangelical Heritage Version

Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Register all the firstborn males of the Israelites one month old and up, and make a list of their names. ⁴¹ You are to take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of every firstborn among the Israelites, and take the livestock of the Levites instead of every firstborn among the livestock of the Israelites.” ⁴² So Moses registered all the firstborn among the Israelites as the Lord commanded. ⁴³ All the firstborn males listed by name, one month old and up, when registered, totaled 22,273.

⁴⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites instead of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites will be mine. I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ For the redemption of the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷ you are to collect five shekels apiece for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel (this shekel is twenty gerahs^[a]). ⁴⁸ You are to give the money, the redemption price for the additional Israelites, to Aaron and his sons.”

⁴⁹ Moses collected the redemption money from those who outnumbered the ones redeemed by the Levites who took their place. ⁵⁰ He collected the money from the firstborn of the Israelites, 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹ Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, in obedience to the word of the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.