The Lord spoke to Moses: “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. They are to perform duties for[a] him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting(A) and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him[b] from the Israelites.(B) 10 You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 3:7 Or to guard, also in v. 8
  2. 3:9 Some Hb mss, LXX, Sam read me; Nm 8:16

The Levites’ first census

The Lord spoke to Moses: Bring near the tribe of Levi and place them before Aaron the priest. They will assist him. They will perform duties for him and for the entire community before the meeting tent, doing the work of the dwelling. They will be responsible for all the equipment of the meeting tent and the duties on behalf of the Israelites when they do the work of the dwelling. You will give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They have been assigned as a gift to him from the Israelites. 10 You will appoint Aaron and his sons to be responsible for the priesthood. Any other person who approaches will be put to death.

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