Numbers 3:40-51

Common English Bible

Levites rescue the oldest male Israelites

⁴⁰ The Lord said to Moses: Enroll all the oldest males of the Israelites over one month of age and record their names. ⁴¹ Take the Levites for me, in place of all the oldest sons of the Israelites, for I am the Lord, and the cattle of the Levites in place of all the oldest cattle of the Israelites. ⁴² Moses enrolled all the oldest males of the Israelites as the Lord commanded. ⁴³ All the oldest males over one month old, recorded by name according to their enrollment, were 22,273.

⁴⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ⁴⁵ Take the Levites in place of all the oldest Israelites and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle. The Levites are mine; I am the Lord. ⁴⁶ To rescue the 273 remaining oldest Israelites over and above the number of Levites, ⁴⁷ you will receive five shekels each. You will receive them according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs to the shekel. ⁴⁸ You will give the money for their rescue to Aaron and his sons.

⁴⁹ So Moses took the money from those rescued over and above the ones rescued by the Levites. ⁵⁰ He took the money from the oldest of the Israelites, 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹ Moses gave the money for those rescued to Aaron and his sons according to the Lord’s word, as the Lord commanded Moses.