Numbers 3:40-51
New American Standard Bible
Firstborn Redeemed
40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(A)Count every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and [a]make a list of their names. 41 And you (B)shall take the Levites for Me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.” 42 So Moses counted all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded him; 43 and all the firstborn males, by the number of names from a month old and upward for their numbered men, were (C)22,273.
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “(D)Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the Lord. 46 (E)And as [b]a redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess of the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take (F)five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in (G)terms of the shekel of the sanctuary ((H)the shekel is twenty [c]gerahs), 48 and you shall give the money, the redemption price of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were in excess of the number of those redeemed by the Levites; 50 from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, 1,365. 51 Then Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, at the [d]command of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 3:40 Lit take up the number
- Numbers 3:46 Or ransom
- Numbers 3:47 A gerah is about 0.025 oz. or 0.7 gm
- Numbers 3:51 Lit mouth
Numbers 3:40-51
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Redemption of the Firstborn
40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Enroll all the firstborn males of the Israelites, from a month old and up, and count their names. 41 But you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the livestock of the Israelites.”(A) 42 So Moses enrolled all the firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. 43 The total enrollment, all the firstborn males from a month old and up, counting the number of names, was twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.(B)
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for their livestock, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.(C) 46 As the price of redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the Israelites, over and above the number of the Levites,(D) 47 you shall take five shekels apiece, reckoning by the shekel of the sanctuary, a shekel of twenty gerahs.(E) 48 Give to Aaron and his sons the money by which the excess number of them is redeemed.” 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 Israelites he took the money, one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, reckoned by the shekel of the sanctuary,(F) 51 and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.