³³ To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. ³⁴ Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. ³⁵ And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ^36 (A)And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the ^(B)frames of the tabernacle, ^(C)the bars, ^(D)the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; ³⁷ also ^(E)the pillars around the court, with their bases and ^(F)pegs and ^(G)cords.

³⁸ Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, ^(H)guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect^[a] the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. ³⁹ All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were ^(I)22,000.