Numbers 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 3
The Sons of Aaron. 1 These are the offspring of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.(A) 3 These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died(B) in the presence of the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they left no sons. So only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
Levites in Place of the Firstborn. 5 Now the Lord said to Moses: 6 Summon the tribe of Levi and station them before Aaron the priest to serve him.(C) 7 They shall discharge his obligations and those of the whole community before the tent of meeting(D) by maintaining the tabernacle. 8 They shall have responsibility for all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and discharge the obligations of the Israelites by maintaining the tabernacle. 9 You shall assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons;(E) they have been assigned unconditionally to him from among the Israelites. 10 But you will appoint only Aaron and his descendants to exercise the priesthood.(F) Any unauthorized person who comes near shall be put to death.
11 The Lord said to Moses: 12 I hereby take the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn that opens the womb among the Israelites.(G) The Levites, therefore, are mine, 13 because every firstborn is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to me every firstborn in Israel, human being and beast alike. They belong to me; I am the Lord.
Census of the Levites. 14 The Lord said to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai: 15 Enroll the Levites by their ancestral houses and clans, enrolling every male of a month or more.(H) 16 Moses, therefore, enrolled them at the direction of the Lord, just as the Lord had charged.
17 (I)These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. 18 These were the names of the sons of Gershon, by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 The sons of Kohath, by their clans, were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 20 The sons of Merari, by their clans, were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites by their ancestral houses.
Duties of the Levitical Clans. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their enrollment, registering every male of a month or more, was seven thousand five hundred. 23 The clans of the Gershonites camped behind the tabernacle, to the west. 24 The leader of the ancestral house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph, son of Lael. 25 (J)At the tent of meeting their responsibility was the tabernacle:[a] the tent and its covering, the curtain at the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the curtain at the entrance of the court enclosing both the tabernacle and the altar, and the ropes—whatever pertained to their maintenance.
27 To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites. 28 Their enrollment, registering every male of a month or more, was eight thousand three hundred. They were the ones who performed the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 And the leader of their ancestral house of the clan of the Kohathites was Elizaphan, son of Uzziel. 31 Their responsibility was the ark, the table, the menorah, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, the veil, and everything pertaining to their maintenance.[b] 32 The chief of the leaders of the Levites, however, was Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest; he was in charge of those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.
33 To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these were the clans of Merari. 34 Their enrollment, registering every male of a month or more, was six thousand two hundred. 35 The leader of the ancestral house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel, son of Abihail. They camped at the north side of the tabernacle. 36 [c]The Merarites were assigned responsibility for the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, columns, pedestals, and all its fittings—and everything pertaining to their maintenance, 37 as well as the columns of the surrounding court with their pedestals, pegs and ropes.
38 East of the tabernacle, that is, in front of the tent of meeting, toward the sunrise, were camped Moses and Aaron and the latter’s sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary incumbent upon the Israelites. Any unauthorized person who came near was to be put to death.
39 The total enrollment of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron enrolled at the direction of the Lord, by clans, every male a month old or more, was twenty-two thousand.
Census and Ransom of Firstborn. 40 The Lord then said to Moses: Enroll every firstborn male of the Israelites a month old or more, and count the number of their names. 41 Then take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, as well as the Levites’ cattle, in place of all the firstborn among the cattle of the Israelites. 42 So Moses enrolled all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord had commanded him. 43 All the firstborn males, registered by name, of a month or more, numbered twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.
44 The Lord said to Moses: 45 Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle, that the Levites may belong to me. I am the Lord. 46 As a redemption-price for the two hundred and seventy-three firstborn of the Israelites over and above the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels for each individual, according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.(K) 48 Give this money to Aaron and his sons as a redemption-price for the extra number. 49 So Moses took the redemption money for those over and above the ones redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels according to the sanctuary shekel. 51 He then gave this redemption money to Aaron and his sons, at the direction of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- 3:25–26 The Gershonites had two wagons for transporting these things; cf. 7:7. For a description of the tabernacle, see Ex 26:1–6; the tent, Ex 26:7–13; its covering, Ex 26:14; the curtain at the entrance, Ex 26:36; the hangings of the court, Ex 27:9–15; the curtain at the entrance of the court, Ex 27:16; the ropes of the tabernacle, Ex 35:18.
- 3:31 The Kohathites had to carry these sacred objects on their shoulders; cf. 7:9. For a description of the ark, see Ex 25:10–22; the table, Ex 25:23–30; the menorah, Ex 25:31–40; the altars, Ex 27:1–8; 30:1–10.
- 3:36–37 The Merarites had four wagons for transporting this heavy material; cf. 7:8. For a description of the boards, bars, etc., of the tabernacle, see Ex 26:15–30; the columns, pedestals, etc., of the court, Ex 27:9–19.
Numbers 3
Expanded Bible
Aaron’s Family, the Priests
3 ·This is the family history [L These are the generations; Gen. 2:4] of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord talked to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 ·Aaron had four sons [L These are the names of the sons of Aaron]: Nadab, the ·oldest [firstborn], Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These were the names of Aaron’s sons, who were appointed to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered ·the wrong kind of [L strange; C an inappropriate performance of a ritual] fire before the Lord in the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sinai [Lev. 10]. They had no sons. So 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 ·present them to [L make them stand before] Aaron the priest to ·help [minister to; assist] him. 7 They will ·help [take care of] him and all the ·Israelites [community; assembly; congregation] at the Meeting Tent, doing the work in the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. 8 The Levites must take care of everything in the Meeting Tent and serve the people of Israel by doing the work in the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; of all the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], the Levites are given completely to him. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests, but anyone else who comes near the holy things must be put to death.”
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 “I am ·choosing [taking] the Levites from all the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] to take the place of all the firstborn ·children [L who open the womb] of ·Israel [L the sons/T children of Israel]. The Levites will be mine, 13 because the firstborn are mine. When you were in Egypt, I ·killed [L struck] all the firstborn ·children of the [L in the land of the] Egyptians [Ex. 12:12–13] and took all the firstborn of Israel to be mine [Ex. 13:2, 11–16; 22:29–30; 34:19–20], both animals and children. They are mine. I am the Lord.”
14 The Lord again said to Moses in the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sinai, 15 “Count the ·Levites [L sons/descendants of Levi] by ·families [clans] and family groups. Count every male one month old or older.” 16 So Moses obeyed the Lord and counted them all.
17 Levi had three sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 The Gershonite ·family groups [clans] were Libni and Shimei [4:21–28].
19 The ·Kohathite family groups [L the sons/descendants of Kohath by their clans] were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel [4:1–20].
20 The ·Merarite family groups [L the sons/descendants of Merari by their clans] were Mahli and Mushi [4:29–33].
These were the ·family groups [clans according to the family groups] of the Levites.
21 The ·family groups [clans] of Libni and Shimei belonged to Gershon; they were the Gershonite ·family groups [clans]. 22 The number that was counted was 7,500 males one month old or older. 23 The Gershonite ·family groups [clan] camped on the west side, behind the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. 24 The leader of the ·families [family groups] of Gershon was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 In the Meeting Tent the Gershonites were in charge of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], its covering [Ex. 26:1–6], the curtain at the entrance to the Meeting Tent, 26 the curtains in the courtyard, the curtain at the entry to the courtyard around the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] and the altar, the ropes, and all the work connected with these items.
27 The ·family groups [clans] of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel belonged to Kohath; they were the Kohathite ·family groups [clans]. 28 They had 8,600 males one month old or older, and they were responsible for taking care of the Holy Place. 29 The Kohathite ·family groups [clans] camped south of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. 30 The leader of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the Ark [Ex. 25:10], the table [Ex. 25:23–30], the lampstand [L Menorah; Ex. 25:31–40], the altars [Ex. 27:1–8], the tools of the Holy Place which they were to use, the curtain, and all the work connected with these items. 32 The main leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, who was in charge of all those responsible for the Holy Place.
33 The ·family groups [clans] of Mahli and Mushi belonged to Merari; they were the Merarite ·family groups [clans]. 34 The number that was counted was 6,200 males one month old or older. 35 The leader of the Merari families was Zuriel son of Abihail, and they were to camp north of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle]. 36 The Merarites were responsible for the frames of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], the ·braces [bars], the ·posts [pillars], the bases, and all the work connected with these items. 37 They were also responsible for the ·posts [pillars] in the courtyard around the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] and their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons camped east of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], toward the sunrise, in front of the Meeting Tent. They were responsible for the Holy Place for the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. Anyone else who came near the Holy Place was to be put to death.
39 Moses and Aaron counted the Levite men by their ·families [clans], as the Lord commanded, and there were 22,000 males one month old or older.
Levites Take the Place of the Firstborn Sons
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn sons in Israel one month old or older, and list their names. 41 Take the Levites for me instead of the firstborn sons of Israel; take the animals of the Levites instead of the firstborn animals from the ·rest [L sons] of Israel. I am the Lord.”
42 So Moses did what the Lord commanded and counted all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. 43 When he listed all the firstborn sons one month old or older, there were 22,273 names.
44 The Lord also said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites, and take the animals of the Levites instead of the animals of the other people. The Levites are mine. I am the Lord. 46 Since there are 273 more firstborn sons than Levites, 47 collect ·two ounces [L five shekels] of silver for each of the 273 sons. Use the ·measure as set by [L shekel of] the Holy Place, which is ·two-fifths of an ounce [L a shekel of twenty gerahs]. 48 Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the payment for the 273 Israelites.”
49 So Moses collected the money for the people the Levites could not ·replace [redeem]. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelites, he collected ·thirty-five pounds [L 1,365 shekels] of silver, using the ·measure set by [L shekel of] the Holy Place. 51 Moses obeyed the command of the Lord and gave the silver to Aaron and his sons.
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