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.

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.