Chapter 3
1 Now this is the history of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Yahweh spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai .
2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn , and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed , whom he consecrated to minister in the priest ’s office.
4 Nadab and Abihu died before Yahweh when they offered strange fire before Yahweh in the wilderness of Sinai , and they had no children . Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest ’s office in the presence of Aaron their father .
5 Yahweh spoke to Moses , saying ,
6 " Bring the tribe of Levi near , and set them before Aaron the priest , that they may minister to him .
7 They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting , to do the service of the tabernacle .
8 They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting , and the obligations of the children of Israel , to do the service of the tabernacle .
9 You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons . They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel .
10 You shall appoint Aaron and his sons , and they shall keep their priesthood , but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death ."
11 Yahweh spoke to Moses , saying ,
12 " Behold , ", means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection. I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among the children of Israel ; and the Levites shall be mine ,
13 for all the firstborn are mine . On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel , both man and animal . They shall be mine . I am Yahweh ."
14 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai , saying ,
15 "Count the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses , by their families . You shall count every male from a month old and upward ."
16 Moses counted them according to Yahweh ’s word , as he was commanded .
17 These were the sons of Levi by their names : Gershon , Kohath , and Merari .
18 These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families : Libni and Shimei .
19 The sons of Kohath by their families : Amram , Izhar , Hebron , and Uzziel .
20 The sons of Merari by their families : Mahli and Mushi . These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses .
21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites , and the family of the Shimeites . These are the families of the Gershonites .
22 Those who were counted of them , according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward , even those who were counted of them were seven thousand five hundred .
23 The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward .
24 Eliasaph the son of Lael shall be the prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites .
25 The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle , the tent, 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 by the tabernacle and around the altar , and its cords for all of its service .
27 Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites , the family of the Izharites , the family of the Hebronites , and the family of the Uzzielites . These are the families of the Kohathites .
28 According to the number of all the males from a month old and upward , there were eight thousand six hundred keeping the requirements of the sanctuary .
29 The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle .
30 The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel .
31 Their duty shall be the ark, the table , the lamp stand, the altars , the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister , the screen , and all its service .
32 Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites , with the oversight of those who keep the requirements of the sanctuary .
33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites . These are the families of Merari .
34 Those who were counted of them , according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward , were six thousand two hundred .
35 The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north side of the tabernacle .
36 The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle ’s boards , its bars , its pillars , its sockets, all its instruments , all its service ,
37 the pillars of the court around it , their sockets, their pins , and their cords .
38 Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward , in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise , shall be Moses , with Aaron and his sons , keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel . The outsider who comes near shall be put to death .
39 All who were counted of the Levites , whom Moses and Aaron counted at the commandment of Yahweh , by their families , all the males from a month old and upward , were twenty-two thousand.
40 Yahweh said to Moses , " Count all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward , and take the number of their names .
41 You shall take the Levites for me — I am Yahweh — instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel ; and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel ."
42 Moses counted , as Yahweh commanded him , all the firstborn among the children of Israel .
43 All the firstborn males according to the number of names from a month old and upward , of those who were counted of them , were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.
44 Yahweh spoke to Moses , saying ,
45 " Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel , and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine . I am Yahweh .
46 For the redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel who exceed the number of the Levites ,
47 you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; according to the shekel of the sanctuary you shall take them ( the shekel is twenty gerahs );
48 and you shall give the money , with which their remainder is redeemed , to Aaron and to his sons ."
49 Moses took the redemption money from those who exceeded the number of those who were redeemed by the Levites ;
50 from the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money , one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels , according to the shekel of the sanctuary ;
51 and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons , according to Yahweh ’s word , as Yahweh commanded Moses .