Numbers 3-5

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Aaron’s Sons and the Levites

3 These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.^{(A) 2} These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴ But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire^(B) before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.^(C)

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. ⁷ 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. ⁸ They are to take care of^[b] all the furnishings of the tent of meeting^(D) and perform duties for^[c] the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁹ Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him^[d] from the Israelites.^{(E) 10} You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”^(F)

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹² “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.^(G) The Levites belong to Me, ¹³ because every firstborn belongs to Me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,^(H) I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to Myself, both man and animal. They are Mine; I am Yahweh.”^(I)

The Levitical Census

¹⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: ¹⁵ “Register the Levites by their ancestral houses and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.” ¹⁶ So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:

³⁹ The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron^[j] registered by their clans at the Lord’s command was 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ The Lord told Moses: “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites^(W) one month old or more, and list their names. ⁴¹ You are to take the Levites for Me—I am Yahweh—in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.” ⁴² So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³ The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.

⁴⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses again: ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to Me; I am Yahweh.^{(X) 46} As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷ collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel—20 gerahs to the shekel.^{(Y) 48} Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”

⁴⁹ So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰ He collected the money from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels^[k] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹ He gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Duties of the Kohathites

4 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ² “Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites^(Z) by their clans and their ancestral houses, ³ men from 30 years old to 50 years old—everyone who is qualified^[l] to do work at the tent of meeting.

⁴ “The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects.^{(AA) 5} Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening veil, and cover the ark of the testimony with it.^{(AB) 6} They are to place over this a covering made of manatee skin,^[m] spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles.^(AC)

⁷ “They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and place the plates and cups on it, as well as the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to be on it.^{(AD) 8} They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with a covering made of manatee skin,^[n] and insert the poles in the table.^(AE)

⁹ “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand^(AF) used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans,^(AG) as well as its jars of oil by which they service it. ¹⁰ Then they must place it with all its utensils inside a covering made of manatee skin^[o] and put them on the carrying frame.

¹¹ “They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar,^(AH) cover it with a covering made of manatee skin,^[p] and insert its poles.^{(AI) 12} They are to take all the serving utensils they use in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering made of manatee skin,^[q] and put them on a carrying frame.

¹³ “They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, ¹⁴ and place all the equipment on it that they use in serving: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and basins—all the equipment of the altar.^(AJ) They are to spread a covering made of manatee skin^[r] over it and insert its poles.^[s](AK)

¹⁵ “Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die.^(AL) These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.

¹⁶ “Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil,^(AM) the fragrant incense,^(AN) the daily grain offering,^(AO) and the anointing oil.^(AP) He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.”^[t]

¹⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ¹⁸ “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. ¹⁹ Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects:^(AQ) Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. ²⁰ The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment,^[u] or they will die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

²¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²² “Take a census of the Gershonites^(AR) also, by their ancestral houses and their clans. ²³ Register men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting. ²⁴ This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: ²⁵ They are to transport the tabernacle curtains,^(AS) the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of manatee skin^[v] on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, ²⁶ the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.

²⁷ “All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. ²⁸ This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

Duties of the Merarites

²⁹ “As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans^(AT) and their ancestral houses. ³⁰ Register men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting. ³¹ This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, posts, and bases, ³² the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. ³³ This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

Census of the Levites

³⁴ So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral houses, ³⁵ men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ³⁶ The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750. ³⁷ These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

³⁸ The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral houses, ³⁹ men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ⁴⁰ The men registered by their clans and their ancestral houses numbered 2,630. ⁴¹ These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.

⁴² The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral houses, ⁴³ those from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. ⁴⁴ The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. ⁴⁵ These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

⁴⁶ Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral houses, ⁴⁷ from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it. ⁴⁸ Their registered men numbered 8,580. ⁴⁹ At the Lord’s command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the Lord commanded Moses.

Isolation of the Unclean

5 The Lord instructed Moses: ² “Command the Israelites to send away anyone from the camp who is afflicted with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, or anyone who is defiled because of a corpse.^{(AU) 3} You must send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.” ⁴ The Israelites did this, sending them outside the camp. The Israelites did as the Lord instructed Moses.

Compensation for Wrongdoing

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Tell the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any sin against another, that person acts unfaithfully toward the Lord and is guilty. ⁷ The person is to confess the sin he has committed. He is to pay full compensation, add a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the individual he has wronged.^{(AV) 8} But if that individual has no relative^(AW) to receive compensation,^[w] the compensation goes to the Lord for the priest, along with the atonement ram by which the priest will make atonement for the guilty person.^{(AX) 9} Every holy contribution the Israelites present to the priest will be his.^{(AY) 10} Each one’s holy contribution is his to give; what each one gives to the priest will be his.”

The Jealousy Ritual

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: If any man’s wife goes astray, is unfaithful to him, ¹³ and sleeps with another,^[x] but it is concealed from her husband, and she is undetected, even though she has defiled herself, since there is no witness against her, and she wasn’t caught in the act; ¹⁴ and if a feeling of jealousy comes over the husband and he becomes jealous because of his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he becomes jealous of her though she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵ then the man is to bring his wife to the priest. He is also to bring an offering for her of two quarts^[y] of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering for remembrance that brings sin to mind.

¹⁶ “The priest is to bring her forward and have her stand before the Lord. ¹⁷ Then the priest is to take holy water in a clay bowl, and take some of the dust from the tabernacle floor and put it in the water. ¹⁸ After the priest has the woman stand before the Lord, he is to let down her hair^[z] and place in her hands the grain offering for remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has slept with you’— ²¹ at this point the priest must make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her—‘May the Lord make you into an object of your people’s cursing and swearing when He makes your thigh^[aa] shrivel and your belly swell.^{[ab] 22} May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach, causing your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’

“And the woman must reply, ‘Amen, Amen.’

²³ “Then the priest is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ He will require the woman to drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and cause bitter suffering. ²⁵ The priest is to take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. ²⁶ The priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Then he will require the woman to drink the water.

²⁷ “When he makes her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, and her thigh will shrivel. She will become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she will be unaffected and will be able to conceive children.

²⁹ “This is the law regarding jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, ³⁰ or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he becomes jealous of his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest will apply this entire ritual to her. ³¹ The husband will be free of guilt, but that woman will bear the consequences of her guilt.”