The Sons of Aaron

3 This is the lineage of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ² These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar;^{(A) 3} these are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. ⁴ Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unholy fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron.^(B)

The Duties of the Levites

⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, so that they may assist him.^{(C) 7} They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, doing service at the tabernacle; ⁸ they shall be in charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and attend to the duties for the Israelites as they do service at the tabernacle. ⁹ You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his descendants; they are unreservedly given to him from among the Israelites.^{(D) 10} But you shall enroll Aaron and his descendants; it is they who shall attend to the priesthood, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”^(E)

¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “I hereby take the Levites from among the Israelites as substitutes for all the firstborn that open the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be mine,^{(F) 13} for all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the Lord.”^(G)

A Census of the Levites

¹⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵ “Enroll the Levites by ancestral houses and by clans. You shall enroll every male from a month old and up.”^{(H) 16} So Moses enrolled them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. ¹⁷ These were the sons of Levi, by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.^{(I) 18} These were the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ The sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰ The sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites, by their ancestral houses.^(J)

²¹ To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites.^{(K) 22} Their enrollment, counting all the males from a month old and up, was seven thousand five hundred. ²³ The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, ²⁴ with Eliasaph son of Lael as head of the ancestral house of the Gershonites. ²⁵ The responsibility of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting,^{(L) 26} the hangings of the court, the screen for the entrance of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service pertaining to these.

²⁷ To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites, the clan of the Izharites, the clan of the Hebronites, and the clan of the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites.^{(M) 28} Counting all the males, from a month old and up, there were eight thousand six hundred performing the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹ The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,^{(N) 30} with Elizaphan son of Uzziel as head of the ancestral house of the clans of the Kohathites. ³¹ Their responsibility was the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen—all the service pertaining to these. ³² Eleazar son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites and to have oversight of those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.

³³ To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites; these were the clans of Merari.^{(O) 34} Their enrollment, counting all the males from a month old and up, was six thousand two hundred. ³⁵ The head of the ancestral house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ The responsibility assigned to the sons of Merari was the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories—all the service pertaining to these,^{(P) 37} also the pillars of the court all around, with their bases and pegs and cords.

³⁸ Those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east—in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise—were Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons, who were to perform the duties of the sanctuary, whatever had to be done for the Israelites, and any outsider who came near was to be put to death.^{(Q) 39} The total enrollment of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron enrolled at the commandment of the Lord, by their clans, all the males from a month old and up, was twenty-two thousand.^(R)

The Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Enroll all the firstborn males of the Israelites, from a month old and up, and count their names. ⁴¹ But you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the livestock of the Israelites.”^{(S) 42} So Moses enrolled all the firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³ The total enrollment, all the firstborn males from a month old and up, counting the number of names, was twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.^(T)

⁴⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for their livestock, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.^{(U) 46} As the price of redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the Israelites, over and above the number of the Levites,^{(V) 47} you shall take five shekels apiece, reckoning by the shekel of the sanctuary, a shekel of twenty gerahs.^{(W) 48} Give to Aaron and his sons the money by which the excess number of them is redeemed.” ⁴⁹ So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites; ⁵⁰ from the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money, one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, reckoned by the shekel of the sanctuary,^{(X) 51} and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Kohathites

4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “Take a census of the Kohathites separate from the other Levites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, ³ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who qualify to do work relating to the tent of meeting.^{(Y) 4} The service of the Kohathites relating to the tent of meeting concerns the most holy things.

⁵ “When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the covenant with it; ⁶ then they shall put on it a covering of fine leather^[a] and spread over that a cloth all of blue and put its poles in place.^{(Z) 7} Over the table of the Presence they shall spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular bread also shall be on it;^{(AA) 8} then they shall spread over them a crimson cloth and cover it with a covering of fine leather^[b] and put its poles in place. ⁹ They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its snuffers, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied,^{(AB) 10} and they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of fine leather^[c] and put it on the carrying frame. ¹¹ Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth and cover it with a covering of fine leather^[d] and put its poles in place,^{(AC) 12} and they shall take all the utensils of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a blue cloth and cover them with a covering of fine leather^[e] and put them on the carrying frame. ¹³ They shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it, ¹⁴ and they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the firepans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar, and they shall spread on it a covering of fine leather^[f] and put its poles in place. ¹⁵ When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the Kohathites shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, or they will die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the Kohathites are to carry.^(AD)

¹⁶ “Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, in the sanctuary and in its utensils.”^(AE)

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ¹⁸ “You must not let the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites. ¹⁹ This is how you shall deal with them in order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each to a particular task or burden.^{(AF) 20} But the Kohathites^[g] must not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, or they will die.”

The Gershonites and Merarites

²¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²² “Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral houses and by their clans; ²³ from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, all who qualify to do work in the tent of meeting.^{(AG) 24} This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: ²⁵ They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting with its covering, and the outer covering of fine leather^[h] that is on top of it, and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting,^{(AH) 26} and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, and all the equipment for their service, and they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. ²⁷ All the service of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do, and you shall assign to them as duties all that they are to carry.^{(AI) 28} This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites relating to the tent of meeting, and their duties are to be under the oversight of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

²⁹ “As for the Merarites, you shall enroll them by their clans and their ancestral houses; ³⁰ from thirty years old up to fifty years old you shall enroll them, everyone who qualifies to do the work of the tent of meeting.^{(AJ) 31} This is their duty to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases,^{(AK) 32} and the pillars of the court all around with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their related service, and you shall assign by name the objects that they are required to carry. ³³ This is the service of the clans of the Merarites, the whole of their service relating to the tent of meeting, under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”^(AL)

Census of the Levites

³⁴ So Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the congregation enrolled the Kohathites, by their clans and their ancestral houses,^{(AM) 35} from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting, ³⁶ and their enrollment by clans was two thousand seven hundred fifty. ³⁷ This was the enrollment of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.^(AN)

³⁸ The enrollment of the Gershonites, by their clans and their ancestral houses,^{(AO) 39} from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting— ⁴⁰ their enrollment by their clans and their ancestral houses was two thousand six hundred thirty. ⁴¹ This was the enrollment of the clans of the Gershonites, all who served at the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord.^(AP)

⁴² The enrollment of the clans of the Merarites, by their clans and their ancestral houses, ⁴³ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who qualified for work relating to the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and their enrollment by their clans was three thousand two hundred. ⁴⁵ This is the enrollment of the clans of the Merarites, whom Moses and Aaron enrolled according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.^(AQ)

⁴⁶ All those who were enrolled of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel enrolled, by their clans and their ancestral houses, ⁴⁷ from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who qualified to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens relating to the tent of meeting,^{(AR) 48} and their enrollment was eight thousand five hundred eighty. ⁴⁹ According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses, they were appointed to their several tasks of serving or carrying; thus they were enrolled by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Unclean Persons

5 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Command the Israelites to put out of the camp everyone who has a defiling skin disease or a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with a corpse;^{(AS) 3} you shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp; they must not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”^{(AT) 4} The Israelites did so, putting them outside the camp; as the Lord had spoken to Moses, so the Israelites did.

Confession and Restitution

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶ “Speak to the Israelites: When a man or a woman wrongs another, breaking faith with the Lord, that person incurs guilt^{(AU) 7} and shall confess the sin that has been committed. The person shall make full restitution for the wrong, adding one-fifth to it and giving it to the one who was wronged.^{(AV) 8} If the injured party has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for the guilty party.^{(AW) 9} Among all the sacred donations of the Israelites, every gift that they bring to the priest shall be his.^{(AX) 10} The sacred donations of all are their own; whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.”^(AY)

Concerning an Unfaithful Wife

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him,^{(AZ) 13} if a man has had intercourse with her but it is hidden from her husband, so that she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her since she was not caught in the act;^{(BA) 14} if a spirit of jealousy comes on him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if a spirit of jealousy comes on him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, ¹⁵ then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. And he shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance.^(BB)

¹⁶ “Then the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord; ¹⁷ the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. ¹⁸ The priest shall set the woman before the Lord, dishevel the woman’s hair, and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. In his own hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse.^{(BC) 19} Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings the curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has had intercourse with you,’ ²¹ —let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse and say to the woman—‘the Lord make you an execration and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your uterus drop, your womb discharge;^{[i](BD) 22} now may this water that brings the curse enter your bowels and make your womb discharge, your uterus drop!’^[j] And the woman shall say, ‘Amen. Amen.’^(BE)

²³ “Then the priest shall put these curses in writing and wash them off into the water of bitterness. ²⁴ He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her and cause bitter pain. ²⁵ The priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand and shall elevate the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar,^{(BF) 26} and the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial portion and turn it into smoke on the altar and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. ²⁷ When he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall discharge, her uterus drop,^[k] and the woman shall become an execration among her people.^{(BG) 28} But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be immune and be able to conceive children.

²⁹ “This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself,^{(BH) 30} or when a spirit of jealousy comes on a man and he is jealous of his wife, then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall apply this entire law to her. ³¹ The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

The Example of Jesus

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,^[a] and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,^{(A) 2} looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of^[b] the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.^(B)

³ Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners,^[c] so that you may not grow weary in your souls or lose heart.^{(C) 4} In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children—

⁷ Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children, for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline?^{(F) 8} If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children.^{(G) 9} Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness.^{(H) 11} Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.^(I)

¹² Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees^{(J) 13} and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.^(K)

Warnings against Rejecting God’s Grace

¹⁴ Pursue peace with everyone and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble and through it many become defiled.^{(L) 16} See to it that no one becomes an immoral and godless person, as Esau was, who sold his birthright for a single meal.^{(M) 17} You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing^[d] with tears.^(N)

¹⁸ You have not come to something^[e] that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest,^{(O) 19} and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them.^{(P) 20} (For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.”^{(Q) 21} Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”)^{(R) 22} But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,^{(S) 23} and to the assembly^[f] of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,^{(T) 24} and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.^(U)

²⁵ See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking, for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven!^{(V) 26} At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.”^{(W) 27} This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.^{(X) 28} Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for indeed our God is a consuming fire.^(Y)