Old/New Testament
Aaron’s Family, the Priests
3 This is the family history of Aaron and Moses. This was at the time the Lord talked to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 Aaron had four sons. Nadab was the oldest. Then Aaron had Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3 Those were the names of Aaron’s sons. They were appointed to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died when they sinned in the presence of the Lord. They made an offering to the Lord in the Desert of Sinai. But they used the wrong kind of fire. They had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi to Aaron the priest. They must help him. 7 They will help him and all the Israelites at the Meeting Tent. They will do the work of the Holy Tent. 8 The Levites must take care of everything in the Meeting Tent. They will serve the people of Israel by doing the work in the Holy Tent. 9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. Of all the Israelites, the Levites are given completely to him. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests. Anyone else who comes near the holy things must be put to death.”
11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 “I am choosing the Levites from all the Israelites. They will take the place of all the firstborn children of Israel. The Levites will be mine. 13 All the firstborn are mine. When you were in Egypt, I killed all the firstborn children of the Egyptians. I took all the firstborn of Israel to be mine. Firstborn animals and children are mine. I am the Lord.”
14 The Lord again talked to Moses in the Desert of Sinai. The Lord said, 15 “Count the Levites by families and family groups. Count every male one month old or older.” 16 So Moses obeyed the Lord and counted them all.
17 Levi had three sons. Their names were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
18 The Gershonite family groups were Libni and Shimei.
19 The Kohathite family groups were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20 The Merarite family groups were Mahli and Mushi.
These were the family groups that belonged to the Levites.
21 The family groups of Libni and Shimei belonged to Gershon. They were all the Gershonite family groups. 22 They had 7,500 males one month or older. 23 The Gershonite family groups camped on the west side, behind the Holy Tent. 24 The leader of the families of Gershon was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 In the Meeting Tent the Gershonites were responsible for taking care of these things: the Holy Tent, its covering, the curtain at the entrance to the Meeting Tent, 26 the curtains in the courtyard, the curtain at the entry to the courtyard around the Holy Tent and the altar, the ropes and all the work connected with these things.
27 The family groups of Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel belonged to Kohath. They were all the Kohathite family groups. 28 They had 8,600 males one month old or older. They were responsible for taking care of the Holy Place. 29 The Kohathite family groups camped south of the Holy Tent. 30 The leader of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the Ark of the Covenant, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the tools of the holy place, the curtain and all the work connected with these things. 32 The main leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. Eleazar was in charge of all those responsible for the Holy Place.
33 The family groups of Mahli and Mushi belonged to Merari. They were all the Merarite family groups. 34 They had 6,200 males one month old or older. 35 The leader of the Merari families was Zuriel son of Abihail. They were to camp north of the Holy Tent. 36 The Merarites were responsible for the frame of the Holy Tent, the braces, the posts, the bases and all the work connected with these things. 37 They were also responsible for the posts in the courtyard around the Holy Tent and their bases, tent pegs and ropes.
38 Moses, Aaron and his sons camped east of the Holy Tent. They were in front of the Meeting Tent. They were responsible for the Holy Place. They did this for the Israelites. Anyone else who came near the Holy Place was to be put to death.
39 Moses and Aaron counted the Levite men. The Lord commanded this. There were 22,000 males one month old or older.
Levites Take the Place of the Firstborn Sons
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn sons in Israel one month old or older. List their names. 41 Take the Levites for me instead of the firstborn sons of Israel. Take the animals of the Levites instead of the firstborn animals from the rest of Israel. I am the Lord.”
42 So Moses did what the Lord commanded. Moses counted all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. 43 He listed all the firstborn sons one month old or older. There were 22,273 names.
44 The Lord also said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. And take the animals of the Levites instead of the animals of the other people. The Levites are mine. I am the Lord. 46 There are 273 more firstborn sons than Levites. 47 So collect two ounces of silver for each of the 273 sons. Use the measure as set by the Holy Place. It weighs two-fifths of an ounce. 48 Give the silver to Aaron and his sons. It is the payment for the 273 Israelites.”
49 So Moses collected the money for the people the Levites could not replace. 50 Moses collected the silver from the firstborn of the Israelites. He collected 35 pounds of silver, using the measure set by the Holy Place. 51 So Moses obeyed the Lord. He gave the silver to Aaron and his sons.
The Jobs of the Kohath Family
4 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Count the Kohathites among the Levites. Count them by family groups and families. 3 Count the men from 30 to 50 years old. They will serve in the Meeting Tent.
4 “They are responsible for the most holy things in the Meeting Tent. 5 When the Israelites move, Aaron and his sons must go into the Holy Tent. They are to take down the curtain. Then they must cover the Ark of the Covenant with it. 6 Over this they must put a covering made from fine leather. Then they must spread the solid blue cloth over it. And they must put the poles in the rings on the Ark of the Covenant.
7 “Then they must spread a blue cloth over the table. This is the table for the bread that shows we are in God’s presence. They must put the plates, spoons, bowls and the jars for drink offerings on the table. They must leave the bread on the table. 8 Then they must put a red cloth over all of these things. They must cover everything with fine leather. Then they must put the poles in place.
9 “With a blue cloth they must cover the lampstand, its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays. They must cover all the jars for the oil used in the lamps. 10 Then they must wrap everything in fine leather. They must put all these things on a frame for carrying them.
11 “They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar. Then they must cover it with fine leather. They must put its poles in place.
12 “They must gather everything used for serving in the Holy Place. They must wrap them in a blue cloth. Then they must cover that with fine leather. They must put these things on a frame for carrying them.
13 “They must clean the ashes off the bronze altar. Then they must spread a purple cloth over it. 14 They must gather all the things used for serving at the altar. These are the pans for carrying the fire, meat forks, shovels and bowls. They must put them on the bronze altar. Then they must spread a covering of fine leather over it. They must put the carrying poles in the rings on the altar.
15 “When the camp is ready to move, have Aaron and his sons cover all the holy things. Then the Kohathites may go in and carry away those things. This way they won’t touch the holy things and die. It is the Kohathites’ job to carry the things that are in the Meeting Tent.
16 “Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, will be responsible for the Holy Tent. And he is responsible for everything in it: the oil for the lamp, the sweet-smelling incense, the continual grain offering and the oil used to appoint priests and things to the Lord’s service.”
17 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 18 “Don’t let the Kohathites be destroyed from the Levites. 19 Do this for the Kohathites. Then they may go near the Most Holy Place and not die. Aaron and his sons must go in and show each Kohathite what to do. And they must show each man what to carry. 20 The Kohathites must not enter and look at the holy things, even for a second. If they do, they will die.”
The Jobs of the Gershon Family
21 The Lord said to Moses, 22 “Count the Gershonites by families and family groups. 23 Count the men from 30 to 50 years old. Everyone has a job to do in the Meeting Tent.
24 “This is what the Gershonite family groups must do and what they must carry. 25 They must carry the pieces of cloth of the Holy Tent and Meeting Tent. They must also carry its covering and the covering made from fine leather. And they must carry the curtains for the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 26 They must carry the curtains of the courtyard that goes around the Holy Tent and the altar. They must carry the curtain for the entry to the courtyard and the ropes and all the things used with the curtains. They must do everything connected with these things. 27 Aaron and his sons are in charge of what the Gershonites do or carry. You tell them what they are responsible for carrying. 28 This is the work of the Gershonite family group at the Meeting Tent. Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest, will direct their work.
The Jobs of the Merari Family
29 “Count the Merarite families and family groups. 30 Count the men from 30 to 50 years old. They will work at the Meeting Tent. 31 It is their job to carry the frame of the Meeting Tent, the crossbars, the posts and bases. 32 They must also carry the posts that go around the courtyard. They must carry the bases, tent pegs and ropes. And they must carry everything that is used with the poles around the courtyard. Tell each man exactly what to carry. 33 This is the work the Merarites will do for the Meeting Tent. Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest, will direct their work.”
The Levite Families
34 Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted the Kohathites by families and family groups. 35 The men from 30 to 50 years old were to work at the Meeting Tent. 36 The family group had 2,750 men. 37 This was the total of the Kohath family group who worked at the Meeting Tent. Moses and Aaron counted them as the Lord had commanded Moses.
38 Also, the Gershon family group was counted by families and family groups. 39 The men from 30 to 50 years old were given work at the Meeting Tent. 40 The families and family groups had 2,630 men. 41 This was the total of the Gershon family group who worked at the Meeting Tent. Moses and Aaron counted them as the Lord had commanded.
42 Also, the men in the families and family groups of the Merari family were counted. 43 The men from 30 to 50 years old were to work at the Meeting Tent. 44 The family group had 3,200 men. 45 This was the total of the Merari family group. Moses and Aaron counted them as the Lord had commanded Moses.
46 So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites. They counted them by families and family groups. 47 The men from 30 to 50 were given work at the Meeting Tent. They also carried the Tent. 48 The total number of these men was 8,580. 49 Each man was counted as the Lord had commanded Moses. Each man was given his work and told what to carry. This was as the Lord had commanded Moses.
People Say Jesus Has a Devil
20 Then Jesus went back home. But again a crowd gathered. There were so many people that Jesus and his followers could not eat. 21 His family heard about all these things. They went to get him because people were saying that Jesus was out of his mind.
22 And the teachers of the law from Jerusalem were saying, “Beelzebul is living inside him! He uses power from the ruler of demons to force demons out.”
23 So Jesus called the people together and used stories to teach them. He said, “Satan will not force his own demons out of people. 24 A kingdom that fights against itself cannot continue. 25 And a family that is divided cannot continue. 26 And if Satan is against himself and fights against his own people, then he cannot continue. And that is the end of Satan. 27 If a person wants to enter a strong man’s house and steal his things, first he must tie up the strong man. Then the thief can steal the things from the strong man’s house. 28 I tell you the truth. All sins that people do can be forgiven. And all the bad things people say against God can be forgiven. 29 But any person who says bad things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of a sin that continues forever.”
30 Jesus said this because the teachers of the law said that Jesus had an evil spirit inside him.
Jesus’ True Family
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent someone in to tell him to come out. 32 Many people were sitting around Jesus. They said to him, “Your mother and brothers[a] are waiting for you outside.”
33 Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 Then Jesus looked at those sitting around him. He said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 My true brother and sister and mother are those who do the things God wants.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.