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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

  1. 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.
  2. 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. 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.
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Numbers 3
Holman Christian Standard Bible

Aaron’s Sons and the Levites

3 These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.(A) 2 These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire(B) before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.(C)

5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for[a] him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of[b] all the furnishings of the tent of meeting(D) and perform duties for[c] the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 9 Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him[d] from the Israelites.(E) 10 You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”(F)

11 The Lord spoke to Moses: 12 “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.(G) The Levites belong to Me, 13 because every firstborn belongs to Me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,(H) I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to Myself, both man and animal. They are Mine; I am Yahweh.”(I)

The Levitical Census

14 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: 15 “Register the Levites by their ancestral houses and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.” 16 So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:

17 These were Levi’s sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 These were the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 Kohath’s sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 Merari’s sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral houses.(J)

21 The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. 22 Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. 23 The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side,(K) 24 and the leader of the Gershonite family was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 The Gershonites’ duties(L) at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,(M) 26 the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance(N) to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes—all the work relating to these.

27 The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. 28 Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600[e] responsible for the duties of[f] the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle,(O) 30 and the leader of the family of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen[g](P)—and all the work relating to them.(Q) 32 The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar(R) son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of[h] the sanctuary.

33 The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. 34 Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. 35 The leader of the family of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle.(S) 36 The assigned duties of Merari’s descendants involved the tabernacle’s supports, crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these,(T) 37 in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.

38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of[i] the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east,(U) in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death.(V)

39 The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron[j] registered by their clans at the Lord’s command was 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

40 The Lord told Moses: “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites(W) one month old or more, and list their names. 41 You are to take the Levites for Me—I am Yahweh—in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.” 42 So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. 43 The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.

44 The Lord spoke to Moses again: 45 “Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to Me; I am Yahweh.(X) 46 As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, 47 collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel—20 gerahs to the shekel.(Y) 48 Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”

49 So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. 50 He collected the money from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels[k] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. 51 He gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 3:7 Or to guard
  2. Numbers 3:8 Or to guard
  3. Numbers 3:8 Or and guard
  4. Numbers 3:9 Some Hb mss, LXX, Sam read Me; Nm 8:16
  5. Numbers 3:28 LXX reads 8,300
  6. Numbers 3:28 Or for guarding
  7. Numbers 3:31 The screen between the most holy place and the holy place; Ex 35:12
  8. Numbers 3:32 Or for guarding
  9. Numbers 3:38 Or who guarded
  10. Numbers 3:39 Some Hb mss, Sam, Syr omit and Aaron
  11. Numbers 3:50 Over 34 pounds of silver
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

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