Numbers 3
Evangelical Heritage Version
Aaron’s Sons and the Duties of the Levites
3 This is the family history of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests.
4 Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and have them stand before Aaron the priest so that they may assist him. 7 They will perform the duties for him and for the entire congregation in front of the Tent of Meeting by doing the work for the Dwelling. 8 They will take care of all the furnishings for the Tent of Meeting and perform the duties of the Israelites by doing the work for the Dwelling. 9 You will give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are completely given to him from among the Israelites. 10 But you will appoint Aaron and his sons, and they will serve in the priesthood. Any unauthorized person who goes near must be put to death.”
The Census of the Levites
11 The Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “See, I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of every firstborn that opens the womb among the Israelites. The Levites are mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, both human and animal. They are mine. I am the Lord.”
14 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, 15 “Register the Levites according to their fathers’ houses, by their clans. You are to register every male a month old and up.”
16 So Moses registered them as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.
17 These were the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 These were the names of the sons of Gershon according to their clans: Libni and Shimei.
19 The sons of Kohath according to their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 The sons of Merari according to their clans were Mahli and Mushi.
The following were the clans of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.
21 From Gershon came the Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan. These were the Gershonite clans. 22 Those who were registered, counting all the males who were a month old and up, were 7,500. 23 The Gershonite clans camped behind the Dwelling on the west side. 24 The tribal chief of the father’s house for the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 The duties of the descendants of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting involved the dwelling and the tent,[a] its coverings, and the screen for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 26 also the hangings of the courtyard, and the screen for the entrance to the courtyard which surrounds the Dwelling and the altar, and its ropes—everything related to this work.
27 From Kohath came the Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan. These were the Kohathite clans. 28 Counting all the males who were a month old and up, there were 8,600 to perform the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the descendants of Kohath camped on the south side of the Dwelling. 30 The tribal chief of the father’s house for the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils with which they serve, and the screen—everything related to this work. 32 The tribal chief over the Levite tribal chiefs was Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest. He was in charge of those performing the duties of the sanctuary.
33 From Merari came the Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan. These were the Merarite clans. 34 Those who were registered, counting all the males who were a month old and up, were 6,200. 35 The tribal chief of the father’s house for the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail. They camped on the north side of the Dwelling. 36 The appointed duties for the sons of Merari involved the Dwelling’s boards, its crossbars, its posts, its bases, all its equipment—everything related to this work, 37 also the posts for the surrounding courtyard, their bases, their tent pegs, and their ropes.
38 Those who camped in front of the Dwelling on the east side, in front of the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons, who were performing the duties of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Any unauthorized person who goes near shall be put to death. 39 All of the Levities who were registered when the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to register them according to their clans, every male a month old and up, were 22,000.
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[b]). 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.
Footnotes
- Numbers 3:25 The term dwelling here refers to the innermost covering of the Dwelling. The tent is the layer above the dwelling.
- Numbers 3:47 The exact value of most ancient weights and measures is uncertain, and there was no universal standard. The sanctuary had its own set of official weights. A shekel is about 10 to 12 grams or .4 to .5 of an ounce, with the sanctuary shekel being slightly larger than the common shekel. There is no independent evidence for the weight of a gerah.
Numbers 3
New American Standard Bible
Levite Priesthood Established
3 (A)Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 (B)These then are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the (C)anointed priests, whom he [a]ordained to serve as priests. 4 (D)But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered [b]strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests [c]in the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “(E)Bring the tribe of Levi forward and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 They shall perform the duties for [d]him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, to do the (F)service of the tabernacle. 8 They shall also take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9 So you shall (G)assign the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are exclusively assigned to him from the sons of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that (H)they may [e]keep their priesthood, but (I)the [f]layman who comes near shall be put to death.”
11 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Now, behold, I (J)have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every (K)firstborn, the firstborn of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. 13 For (L)all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from the human firstborn to animals. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses (M)in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “[g](N)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 [h]word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded. 17 (O)These, then, are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the (P)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 [i]tabernacle westward, 24 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites: Eliasaph the son of Lael.
Duties of the Levites
25 Now (Q)the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle and (R)the tent, its covering, and (S)the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 and (T)the curtains of the courtyard, (U)the curtain for the entrance of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its ropes, according to all the service [j]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: [k]Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31 Now (V)their duties included (W)the ark, (X)the table, (Y)the lampstand, (Z)the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, the [l]curtain, and all the service [m]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 (AA)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 (AB)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 (AC)the [n]layman coming near was to be put to death. 39 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the [o]command of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were (AD)twenty-two thousand.
Firstborn Redeemed
40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(AE)Count every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and [p]make a list of their names. 41 And you (AF)shall take the Levites for Me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.” 42 So Moses counted all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded him; 43 and all the firstborn males, by the number of names from a month old and upward for their numbered men, were (AG)22,273.
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “(AH)Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the Lord. 46 (AI)And as [q]a redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess of the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take (AJ)five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in (AK)terms of the shekel of the sanctuary ((AL)the shekel is twenty [r]gerahs), 48 and you shall give the money, the redemption price of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were in excess of the number of those redeemed by the Levites; 50 from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, 1,365. 51 Then Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, at the [s]command of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Footnotes
- Numbers 3:3 Lit filled their hand
- Numbers 3:4 I.e., prohibited
- Numbers 3:4 Lit before the face
- Numbers 3:7 Lit him and the duties of the whole congregation
- Numbers 3:10 Or perform
- Numbers 3:10 Lit stranger
- Numbers 3:15 Lit muster, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 3:16 Lit mouth
- Numbers 3:23 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 3:26 Lit of it
- Numbers 3:30 In Ex 6:22, Elzaphan
- Numbers 3:31 I.e., the veil between the Holy Place and Most Holy Place
- Numbers 3:31 Lit of it
- Numbers 3:38 Lit stranger
- Numbers 3:39 Lit mouth
- Numbers 3:40 Lit take up the number
- Numbers 3:46 Or ransom
- Numbers 3:47 A gerah is about 0.025 oz. or 0.7 gm
- Numbers 3:51 Lit mouth
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
