Numbers 3
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai.
2 And these the names of the sons of Aaron: his firstborn Nadab, then Abiu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 These the names of the sons of Aaron the priests that were anointed, and whose hands were filled and consecrated, to do the functions of priesthood.
4 Now Nadab and Abiu died, without children, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the desert of Sinai: and Eleazar and Ithamar performed the priestly office in the presence of Aaron their father.
5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
6 Bring the tribe of Levi, and make them stand in the sight of Aaron the priest to minister to him, and let them watch,
7 And observe whatsoever appertaineth to the service of the multitude before the tabernacle of the testimony,
8 And let them keep the vessels of the tabernacle, serving in the ministry thereof.
9 And thou shalt give the Levites for a gift,
10 To Aaron and to his sons, to whom they are delivered by the children of Israel. But thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons over the service of priesthood. The stranger that approacheth to minister, shall be put to death.
11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
12 I have taken the Levites from the children of Israel, for every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.
13 For every firstborn is mine: since I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt: I have sanctified to myself whatsoever is firstborn in Israel both of man and beast, they are mine: I am the Lord.
14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying:
15 Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and upward.
16 Moses numbered them as the Lord had commanded.
17 And there were found sons of Levi by their names, Gerson and Caath and Merari.
18 The sons of Gerson: Lebni and Semei.
19 The sons of Caath: Amram, and Jesaar, Hebron and Oziel:
20 The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi.
21 Of Gerson were two families, the Lebnites, and the Semeites:
22 Of which were numbered, people of the male sex from one month and upward, seven thousand five hundred.
23 These shall pitch behind the tabernacle on the west,
24 Under their prince Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25 And their charge shall be in the tabernacle of the covenant:
26 The tabernacle itself and the cover thereof, the hanging that is drawn before the doors of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the curtains of the court: the hanging also that is hanged in the entry of the court of the tabernacle, and whatsoever belongeth to the rite of the altar, the cords of the tabernacle, and all the furniture thereof.
27 Of the kindred of Caath come the families of the Amramites and Jesaarites and Hebronites and Ozielites. These are the families of the Caathites reckoned up by their names:
28 All of the male sex from one month and upward, eight thousand six hundred: they shall have the guard of the sanctuary,
29 And shall camp on the south side.
30 And their prince shall be Elisaphan the son of Oziel:
31 And they shall keep the ark, and the table and the candlestick, the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary, wherewith they minister, and the veil, and all the furniture of this kind.
32 And the prince of the princes of the Levites, Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, shall be over them that watch for the guard of the sanctuary.
33 And of Merari are the families of the Moholites, and Musites, reckoned up by their names:
34 All of the male kind from one month and upward, six thousand two hundred.
35 Their prince Suriel the son of Abihaiel: they shall camp on the north side.
36 Under their custody shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the pillars and their sockets, and all things that pertain to this kind of service:
37 And the pillars of the court round about with their sockets, and the pins with their cords.
38 Before the tabernacle of the covenant, that is to say on the east side, shall Moses and Aaron camp, with their sons, having the custody of the sanctuary, in the midst of the children of Israel. What stranger soever cometh unto it, shall be put to death.
39 All the Levites, that Moses and Aaron numbered according to the precept of the Lord, by their families, of the male kind from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand.
40 And the Lord said to Moses: Number the firstborn of the male sex of the children of Israel, from one month and upward, and thou shalt take the sum of them.
41 And thou shalt take the Levites to me for all the firstborn of the children of Israel, I am the Lord: and their cattle for all the firstborn of the cattle of the children of Israel:
42 Moses reckoned up, as the Lord had commanded, the firstborn of the children of Israel:
43 And the males by their names, from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.
44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saving:
45 Take the Levites for the firstborn of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites for their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.
46 But for the price of the two hundred and seventy-three, of the firstborn of the children of Israel, that exceed the number of the Levites,
47 Thou shalt take five sides for every head, according to the weight of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols.
48 And then shalt give the money to Aaron and his sons, the price of them that are above.
49 Moses therefore took the money of them that were above, and whom they had redeemed from the Levites,
50 For the firstborn of the children of Israel, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary,
51 And gave it to Aaron and his sons, according to the word that the Lord had commanded him.
Numbers 3
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Tribe of Levi Is Registered and Assigned Duties
3 This is the list of Aaron and Moses’ descendants at the time when the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 The names of Aaron’s sons are Nadab (the firstborn), Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence because they offered unauthorized fire in his presence in the Desert of Sinai. They had no children. So only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi, and have them stand in front of the priest Aaron to assist him. 7 They will work for him and the whole community in front of the tent of meeting, doing what needs to be done for the inner tent. 8 They will take care of all the furnishings in the tent of meeting and work for the Israelites, doing what needs to be done for the inner tent. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. The Levites will be the only Israelites given to them. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests. Anyone else who tries to do the priests’ duties must be put to death.”
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “Out of all the Israelites, I have taken the Levites to be substitutes for every firstborn male offspring among them. The Levites are mine, 13 because every firstborn is mine. The day I killed every firstborn male in Egypt, I set apart as holy every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They will be mine. I am the Lord.”
14 The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 “Count the Levites by households and families. Count every male who is at least one month old.” 16 So Moses did what the Lord said and registered them as he had been commanded.
17 Gershon, Kohath, and Merari were the sons of Levi.
18 Libni and Shimei were the sons of Gershon. Their families were named after them.
19 Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel were the sons of Kohath. Their families were named after them.
20 Mahli and Mushi were the sons of Merari. Their families were named after them.
These were the households of Levite families.
21 To Gershon belonged the families descended from Libni and Shimei. These were the families descended from Gershon. 22 The total number of all the males at least one month old was 7,500. 23 The families descended from Gershon put up their tents on the west side behind the tent of meeting. 24 The leader of the Gershonite households was Eliasaph, son of Lael. 25 At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were in charge of the inner tent, the outer tent and cover, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains for the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the inner tent and the altar, and the ropes. They took care of all these things.
27 To Kohath belonged the families descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. These were the families descended from Kohath. 28 The number of all the males at least one month old was 8,600. They were in charge of the holy place. 29 The families descended from Kohath put up their tents on the south side of the tent of meeting. 30 The leader of the Kohathite families and households was Elizaphan, son of Uzziel. 31 They were in charge of the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the utensils used in the holy place, and the screen. They took care of all these things.
32 The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron. It was Eleazar’s duty to supervise those who were in charge of the holy place.
33 To Merari belonged the families descended from Mahli and Mushi. These were the families descended from Merari. 34 The total number of all the males at least one month old was 6,200. 35 The leader of the Merarite families and households was Zuriel, son of Abihail. They put up their tents on the north side of the tent of meeting. 36 It was the duty of the Merarites to be in charge of the framework of the inner tent, the crossbars, posts, sockets, and all the equipment. They took care of all these things. 37 They also took care of the posts for the surrounding courtyard, the bases, pegs, and ropes.
38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons put up their tents on the east side in front of the tent of meeting. They were in charge of the holy place on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who tried to do the Levites’ duties had to be put to death.
39 The grand total of Levites that Moses and Aaron counted at the Lord’s command, by families, every male who was at least one month old, was 22,000.
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites who is at least one month old, and make a list of their names. 41 I am the Lord. Take the Levites for me to be substitutes for all firstborn Israelites. Also take the animals of the Levites to be substitutes for all firstborn animals of the Israelites.”
42 So Moses registered all the firstborn Israelites as the Lord commanded him. 43 The total of all the firstborn males at least one month old was 22,273. They were listed by name.
44 The Lord said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites to be substitutes for all the firstborn Israelites and the animals of the Levites to be substitutes for their animals. The Levites will be mine. I am the Lord. 46 There are 273 more firstborn male Israelites than there are Levites. 47 It will cost you two ounces of silver per person (using the standard weight of the holy place) to buy them back. 48 Give the silver to Aaron and his sons. It will buy back those Israelites who outnumber the Levites.”
49 So Moses took this ransom money from the Israelites who outnumbered the Levites. 50 The silver Moses collected for the firstborn Israelites weighed 34 pounds, using the standard weight of the holy place. 51 Then Moses did what the Lord said and gave Aaron and his sons this ransom money as he had been commanded.
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