Numbers 3:40-51
English Standard Version
Redemption of the Firstborn
40 And the Lord said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 (A)And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.
44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 (B)“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 46 And (C)as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take (D)five shekels[a] per head; you shall take them according to (E)the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs[b]), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 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 people of Israel he took the money, (F)1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses (G)gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- Numbers 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram
Numbers 3:40-51
International Standard Version
Numbering Israel’s First-born
40 Later the Lord instructed Moses: “Number all the first-born males of Israel from a month old and above and list their names. 41 Separate[a] the descendants of Levi for me—since[b] I am the Lord—in place of all the first-born sons of Israel. Also separate[c] the livestock of the descendants of Levi in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of Israel.” 42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn from the sons of Israel just as the Lord commanded him. 43 All the first-born males according to the list of their names from a month old and above numbered 22,273.
Creation of the Levite Ministry
44 Then the Lord told Moses, 45 “Separate the descendants of Levi in place of all the firstborn sons of Israel and the livestock of the descendants of Levi in place of their livestock. The descendants of Levi belong to me, since[d] I am the Lord. 46 You are to pay a ransom for the 273 first-born Israelis who exceed the census number of the descendants of Levi, 47 so collect five shekels for each individual,[e] denominated in shekels of the sanctuary, that is, the shekel that weighs 20 gerahs.[f] 48 Then give the money meant for ransom of their excess to Aaron and his sons.”
49 So Moses took the ransom money to account for the difference in the total number[g] of those redeemed by the descendants of Levi. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelis, Moses took money amounting to 1,365 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and his sons according to the Lord’s instructions, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 3:41 Lit. Take
- Numbers 3:41 The Heb. lacks since
- Numbers 3:41 The Heb. lacks separate
- Numbers 3:45 The Heb. lacks since
- Numbers 3:47 Lit. head
- Numbers 3:47 I.e., a unit of weight measurement equal to about 16 barley grains; about 0.025 ounces or 0.5 grams; cf. Exod 30:13; Num 18:16
- Numbers 3:49 Lit. the excess
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
