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Numbers 3
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

The Sons of Aaron

3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the first-born, and Abi′hu, Elea′zar, and Ith′amar; 3 these are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to minister in the priest’s office. 4 But Nadab and Abi′hu died before the Lord when they offered unholy fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Elea′zar and Ith′amar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

The Duties of the Levites

5 And the Lord said to Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle; 8 they shall have charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and attend to the duties for the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but if any one else comes near, he shall be put to death.”

11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every first-born that opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the first-born are mine; on the day that I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the first-born in Israel, both of man and of beast; they shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

A Census of the Levites

14 And the Lord said to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, 15 “Number the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number.” 16 So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merar′i. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shim′e-i. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uz′ziel. 20 And the sons of Merar′i by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.

21 Of Gershon were the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shim′e-ites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22 Their number according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was[a] seven thousand five hundred. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to encamp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eli′asaph, the son of La′el as head of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. 25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was to be the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the door of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords; all the service pertaining to these.

27 Of Kohath were the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izhar′ites, and the family of the He′bronites, and the family of the Uz′zielites; these are the families of the Ko′hathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, attending to the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to encamp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Eli-za′phan the son of Uz′ziel as head of the fathers’ house of the families of the Ko′hathites. 31 And their charge was to be the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service pertaining to these. 32 And Elea′zar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who had charge of the sanctuary.

33 Of Merar′i were the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merar′i. 34 Their number according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was six thousand two hundred. 35 And the head of the fathers’ house of the families of Merar′i was Zu′riel the son of Abiha′il; they were to encamp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed charge of the sons of Merar′i was to be the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service pertaining to these; 37 also the pillars of the court round about, with their bases and pegs and cords.

38 And those to encamp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, having charge of the rites within the sanctuary, whatever had to be done for the people of Israel; and any one else who came near was to be put to death. 39 All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, by families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

The Redemption of the Firstborn

40 And the Lord said to Moses, “Number all the first-born males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking their number by names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the first-born among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses numbered all the first-born among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the first-born males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as numbered were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

44 And the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 46 And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the first-born of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels apiece; reckoning by the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty gerahs, you shall take them, 48 and give the money by which the excess number of them is redeemed to Aaron and his sons.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites; 50 from the first-born of the people of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, reckoned by the shekel of the sanctuary; 51 and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 3:22 Heb their number was
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Numbers 3
International Standard Version

Aaron’s Descendants(A)

3 This is a record of the genealogies[a] of Aaron and Moses current as of[b] the day on which the Lord addressed Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 The[c] sons of Aaron were Nadab the first-born, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar 3 who[d] were anointed priests and whom he consecrated[e] as priests. 4 Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they offered unauthorized[f] fire before him[g] in the Sinai wilderness. Since they didn’t have their own children, Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests under the authority of[h] Aaron their father.

Appointment of the Descendants of Levi as Priests

5 The Lord told Moses, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest so they may serve him. 7 They are to take care of his needs and the needs of the whole congregation at the Tent of Meeting by performing duties[i] at the tent. 8 They are to take charge of the utensils at the Tent of Meeting and meet the needs of the Israelis by performing duties on behalf of the tent. 9 Assign[j] the descendants of Levi to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelis. 10 Appoint Aaron and his sons so that they are to take responsibility for their priesthood. Any unauthorized[k] person who approaches it is to be put to death.”

The Descendants of Levi as Substitutes for the First-born

11 Later, the Lord told Moses, 12 “I’m taking the descendants of Levi for myself from among the Israelis in place of every first-born who opens the womb.[l] The descendants of Levi belong to me 13 because all the first-born belong to me. When[m] I destroyed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated all the first-born in Israel for myself—from human beings to livestock. They belong to me, since[n] I am the Lord.”

Numbering the Descendants of Levi

14 The Lord also told Moses in the Sinai wilderness, 15 “Number the descendants of Levi according to their ancestral houses and tribes, numbering every male from a month old and above.”

16 So Moses numbered them according to the instruction[o] of the Lord, as he had been commanded. 17 These are Levi’s descendants by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 These are names of Gershon’s descendants according to their families: Libni and Shimei. 19 These are the names of Kohath’s descendants according to their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 Merari’s descendants according to their families were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the descendants of Levi according to their ancestral house.

The Descendants of Gershon

21 The families of Libni and Shimei were descendants of Gershon. As families of the descendants of Gershon, 22 all the males a month old and above numbered 7,500. 23 The families of the descendants of Gershon encamped behind the tent toward the west.[p] 24 The leader of the tribe and family of Gershon was Lael’s son Eliasaph. 25 The duties of the descendants of Gershon at the Tent of Meeting pertained to the tent, the tent covering, the curtain[q] to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 26 the hangings at the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard that surrounded the tent, the altar, and all of the tent cords in use.

The Descendants of Kohath and Their Duties

27 The families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel were descendants of Kohath. As families of the descendants of Kohath, 28 all the males a month old and above numbered 8,600.[r] They were tasked to the care of the sanctuary. 29 The descendants of Kohath encamped beside the tent toward the south. 30 The leader of the tribe and family of Kohath was Uzziel’s son Elizaphan. 31 Their duties pertained to the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, and all the curtains in use. 32 The chief of all the leaders of the descendants of Levi was Aaron the priest’s son Eleazar. He was assigned to oversee those who were in charge of the services of the sanctuary.

The Descendants of Merari and Their Duties

33 The families of Mahli and Mushi were descendants of Merari. As families of Merari, 34 all the males a month old and above numbered 6,200. 35 The leader of the tribe and family of Merari was Abihail’s son Zuriel. The descendants of Merari encamped beside the tent toward the north. 36 The duties of the caretakers from the descendants of Merari included the boards of the tent, its bars, crossbars, sockets, all its utensils for their services, 37 the pillars around the courtyard, their sockets, pegs, and tent cords.

The Encampment of Moses and Aaron

38 In front of the tent and east of the Tent of Meeting, Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s[s] sons encamped facing the east. They were tasked to perform the duties of the sanctuary and care for the needs of the Israelis. Any unauthorized[t] person who approached was to be executed. 39 As the Lord had instructed, everyone counted by Moses and Aaron from the descendants of Levi, according to their tribe, all males from a month old and above numbered 22,000.

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[u] the descendants of Levi for me—since[v] I am the Lord—in place of all the first-born sons of Israel. Also separate[w] 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[x] 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,[y] denominated in shekels of the sanctuary, that is, the shekel that weighs 20 gerahs.[z] 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[aa] 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.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 3:1 Lit. generations
  2. Numbers 3:1 The Heb. lacks current as of
  3. Numbers 3:2 Lit. These are the names of the
  4. Numbers 3:3 Lit. These are the names of the sons of Aaron who
  5. Numbers 3:3 Lit. filled their hands
  6. Numbers 3:4 Lit. strange
  7. Numbers 3:4 Lit. the Lord
  8. Numbers 3:4 Lit. priest before
  9. Numbers 3:7 Or work
  10. Numbers 3:9 Lit. Give
  11. Numbers 3:10 Or undesignated
  12. Numbers 3:12 Lit. womb from among the Israelis
  13. Numbers 3:13 Or the day
  14. Numbers 3:13 The Heb. lacks since
  15. Numbers 3:16 Lit. mouth
  16. Numbers 3:23 Lit. sea
  17. Numbers 3:25 Or screen
  18. Numbers 3:28 So MT; LXX reads 8,300
  19. Numbers 3:38 Lit his
  20. Numbers 3:38 Or undesignated
  21. Numbers 3:41 Lit. Take
  22. Numbers 3:41 The Heb. lacks since
  23. Numbers 3:41 The Heb. lacks separate
  24. Numbers 3:45 The Heb. lacks since
  25. Numbers 3:47 Lit. head
  26. 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
  27. Numbers 3:49 Lit. the excess
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