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The Sons of Aaron

These are the people of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. The names of the sons of Aaron are Nadab the first-born, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the chosen religious leaders. Aaron set them apart to work as religious leaders. But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they made a fire that was not holy to the Lord in the Desert of Sinai. And they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar worked as religious leaders during the life-time of their father Aaron.

The Levites Serve in the Meeting Tent

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Bring the family of Levi near. Set them in front of Aaron the religious leader so they may serve him. They will do the duties for him and for all the people in front of the meeting tent. They will do the work around the meeting tent, and will keep all the things that belong to the meeting tent. They will take care of the duties for the people of Israel as they work around the meeting tent. You will give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They are all given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 Set apart Aaron and his sons to do the work of religious leaders. But if anyone comes near who is not a religious leader, he must be put to death.”

11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “See, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every first-born among the people of Israel. The Levites will be Mine. 13 For all the first-born are Mine. On the day that I killed all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I set apart for My own all the first-born in Israel, both man and animal. They will be Mine. I am the Lord.”

The Levites Are Numbered

14 Then the Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, 15 “Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses and by their families. Number every male a month old and older.” 16 So Moses numbered them just as he had been told by the word of the Lord. 17 The names of the sons of Levi are Gershon, Kohath and Merari. 18 The names of the sons of Gershon by their families are Libni and Shimei. 19 The sons of Kohath by their families are Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 20 The sons of Merari by their families are Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ houses.

21 Of Gershon were the families of the Libnites and the Shimeites. These were the families of the Gershonites. 22 The number of their men, every male a month old and older, was 7,500. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to set up their tents behind the meeting tent on the west side. 24 The leader of the fathers’ houses of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25 The sons of Gershon were to take care of the meeting tent, its covering, and the curtain for the door of the meeting tent. 26 And they were to take care of the curtains for the door of the open space, and all curtains around the meeting tent and the altar and their ropes. They did all the work having to do with them.

27 Of Kohath were the families of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites. These were the families of the Kohathites. 28 The number of every male a month old and older was 8,600. They did the duties of the holy place. 29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to set up their tents on the south side of the meeting tent. 30 The leader of the fathers’ houses of the Kohathite families was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31 They took care of the special box with the Law, and the table, the lamp-stand, the altars, the things used in the holy place, and the curtain. They did all the work having to do with them. 32 Eleazar, the son of Aaron the religious leader, was the head of the leaders of Levi. He watched over those who did the duties of the holy place.

33 Of Merari were the families of the Mahlites and the Mushites. These were the families of Merari. 34 The number of their men, every male a month old and older, was 6,200. 35 The leader of the fathers’ houses of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to set up their tents on the north side of the meeting tent. 36 The duties given to the sons of Merari were to take care of the parts made of wood of the meeting tent, its cross pieces, its pillars, its bases, and all the pieces that had to do with them. They took care of all these things, 37 and of the pillars around the open space and their bases and their nails and their ropes.

38 Moses and Aaron and his sons were to set up their tents on the east side in front of the meeting tent, toward the sunrise. They did the duties of the meeting tent, whatever had to be done for the people of Israel. But the one who came near who was not a religious leader was to be put to death. 39 The number of all the Levite men a month old and older, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by their families as the Lord told them, was 22,000.

Levites Take the Place of First-Born Sons

40 The Lord said to Moses, “Number every first-born male of the sons of Israel a month old and older. Write down their names. 41 Take the Levites for Me, instead of all the first-born among the sons of Israel. I am the Lord. And take the cattle of the Levites instead of all the first-born among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses numbered all the first-born among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had told him. 43 The number of names of all the first-born males a month old and older was 22,273.

44 Then the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the first-born sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites. The number of the Levites will be Mine. I am the Lord. 46 There are 273 first-born of the sons of Israel, who are more in number than the Levites. You must pay the price for each of them. 47 Take five pieces of silver for each, by the weight of silver agreed upon for the meeting tent. 48 Give the money, the price of those who are more in number than the Levites, to Aaron and his sons.” 49 So Moses took the money to pay for those who were more in number than the Levites. 50 He took the money from the first-born sons of Israel, by the weight agreed upon for the meeting tent. He took 1,365 pieces of silver. 51 Then Moses gave the money to Aaron and his sons, just as the Lord had told Moses by His Word.

Синовете на Аарон

Ето родословието на Аарон и Мойсей по времето, когато Господ говори на Мойсей на Синайската планина. (A)Ето и имената на Аароновите синове: първородният Надав, Авиуд, Елеазар и Итамар. Това са племената на Аароновите синове, помазаните свещеници, които бяха посветени в свещенодействие. (B)Надав и Авиуд умряха пред Господа, когато принасяха непозволено жертвоприношение пред Господа в Синайската пустиня; те нямаха деца. А Елеазар и Атамар свещенодействаха при баща си Аарон.

Преброяване на левитите

И Господ каза на Мойсей: (C)„Доведи Левиевото племе и го представи пред свещеника Аарон, за да му служи. Нека те стоят на стража при скинията на събранието и се грижат за него и за цялото общество по време на служението при скинията. И нека пазят всички принадлежности на скинията и да се грижат за израилтяните по време на служенето при скинията. (D)Предай левитите на Аарон и на синовете му; нека те всецяло му бъдат предадени от страна на израилтяните. 10 (E)А на Аарон и на синовете му възложи да извършват свещеническото служене; ако пък външен човек се доближи, да бъде умъртвен.“

11 И каза още Господ на Мойсей: 12 „Ето Аз взех левитите измежду израилтяните вместо всички първородни от Израилевите синове, които отварят утроба. Левитите ще бъдат Мои, 13 (F)защото всички първородни са Мои. В деня, когато поразих всички първородни в египетската страна, Аз осветих за Себе Си всички първородни в Израил – било човек или добитък. Те ще бъдат Мои, Аз съм Господ.“

14 (G)И каза Господ на Мойсей в Синайската пустиня: 15 „Преброй Левиевите синове според семействата им, според родовете им, преброй всички от мъжки пол от един месец и нагоре.“ 16 И Мойсей ги преброи според думите на Господа, както му бе заповядано. 17 (H)(I)Ето Левиевите синове според имената им: Гирсон, Каат и Мерари. 18 И ето имената на Гирсоновите синове според родовете им: Ливни и Шимей; 19 и Каатовите синове според родовете им: Амрам, Ицхар, Хеврон и Узиил; 20 и Мерариевите синове според родовете им: Махли и Муши. Това са Левиевите родове според семействата им.

21 От Гирсон произлизат родът на Ливни и родът на Шимей. Това са родовете на Гирсоновите синове. 22 Преброените от тях, всички от мъжки пол от един месец и нагоре, бяха седем хиляди и петстотин души. 23 Родовете на Гирсон се разположиха на стан зад скинията, на западната страна. 24 Предводител на бащиния дом на Гирсоновите синове беше Елиасаф, Лаеловият син. 25 На Гирсоновите синове при скинията на събранието беше поверена грижата за скинията и покрива ѝ, за завесата от входа на скинията на събранието, 26 за завесите от двора, за завесата от входа на двора, който е около скинията и жертвеника, и за всичко необходимо при служенето.

27 От Каат произлизат родът на Амрам, родът на Ицхар, родът на Хеврон и родът на Узиил. Това са родовете на Каатовите синове. 28 Техният брой, всички от мъжки пол от един месец нагоре, беше осем хиляди и шестстотин души, които пазеха светилището. 29 Родовете на Каат се разположиха на стан на южната страна на скинията. 30 Предводител на семейството на Каатовите синове беше Елуатан, Узииловият син. 31 На тях беше поверена грижата за ковчега, трапезата, светилника, жертвениците, за свещените съдове, с които си служат, за завесата и за всичко необходимо при служенето. 32 Началник на левитските началници беше Елеазар, син на свещеника Аарон; под негов надзор бяха онези, на които бе поверено да пазят светилището.

33 От Мерари произлизат родът на Махли и родът на Муши. Това са родовете на Мерариевите синове. 34 Преброените от тях, всички от мъжки пол от един месец и нагоре, бяха шест хиляди и двеста души. 35 Предводител на семейството на Мерариевите синове беше Цуриил, Авихаиловият син. Те се разположиха на стан на северната страна на скинията. 36 На Мерариевите синове беше поверена грижата за дъските на скинията, напречните ѝ греди, стълбовете ѝ, подложките ѝ, всички вещи, необходими за това служене, 37 а също стълбовете около двора и подложките им, колчетата им и въжетата им.

38 (J)А пред входа на скинията, на изток пред скинията на събранието, се разположиха на стан Мойсей и Аарон и синовете му. На тях беше поверено да пазят светилището за израилтяните; ако пък външен човек се приближи, да бъде умъртвен. 39 Числото на всички левити, преброени от Мойсей и Аарон според родовете им по заповед на Господа – всички от мъжки пол от един месец и нагоре, беше двадесет и две хиляди души.

40 Тогава Господ каза на Мойсей: „Преброй всички от мъжки пол от един месец и нагоре; като ги броиш поименно, 41 (K)запази левитите за Мене – Аз съм Господ – вместо всички първородни сред израилтяните; запази така и добитъка на левитите вместо всички първородни сред добитъка на Израилевите синове.“ 42 И Мойсей преброи всички първородни сред израилтяните, както му беше заповядал Господ. 43 И всички първородни от мъжки пол според броя на племената, от един месец и нагоре, бяха двадесет и две хиляди двеста седемдесет и три.

44 Тогава Господ рече на Мойсей: 45 „Вземи левитите вместо всички първородни сред израилтяните и добитъка на левитите вместо техния добитък. Левитите ще бъдат Мои, Аз съм Господ. 46 А за откуп на двеста седемдесет и трима първородни израилтяни, които са повече от броя на левитите, 47 вземи по пет сикли на човек, според свещената сикла вземи – по двадесет гери за сикла, 48 и дай парите, с които те са откупени, на Аарон и синовете му.“ 49 И така, Мойсей взе парите от откупа на онези, които бяха в повече след размяната с левитите. 50 Парите, които взе от първородните израилтяни, възлизаха на хиляда триста шестдесет и пет сикли според свещената сикла. 51 И Мойсей стори, както Господ беше заповядал – даде парите от откупа на Аарон и синовете му съгласно думите на Господа.

The Sons of Aaron(A)

Now these are the (B)records[a] of Aaron and Moses when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the (C)firstborn, and (D)Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, (E)the anointed priests, [b]whom he consecrated to minister as priests. (F)Nadab and Abihu had died before the Lord when they offered profane fire before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father.

The Levites Serve in the Tabernacle

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: (G)“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do (H)the work of the tabernacle. Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. And (I)you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to [c]him from among the children of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, (J)and they shall attend to their priesthood; (K)but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “Now behold, (L)I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be (M)Mine, 13 because (N)all the firstborn are Mine. (O)On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”

Census of the Levites Commanded(P)

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying: 15 “Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families; you shall number (Q)every male from a month old and above.”

16 So Moses numbered them according to the [d]word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17 (R)These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of (S)Gershon by their families: (T)Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of (U)Kohath by their families: (V)Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 (W)And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ houses.

21 From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22 Those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above—of those who were numbered there were seven thousand five hundred. 23 (X)The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward. 24 And the leader of the father’s house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25 (Y)The duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting included (Z)the tabernacle, (AA)the tent with (AB)its covering, (AC)the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, 26 (AD)the screen for the door of the court, (AE)the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and (AF)their cords, according to all the work relating to them.

27 (AG)From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and above, there were eight thousand [e]six hundred [f]keeping charge of the sanctuary. 29 (AH)The families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 And the leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of (AI)Uzziel. 31 (AJ)Their duty included (AK)the ark, (AL)the table, (AM)the lampstand, (AN)the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, (AO)the screen, and all the work relating to them.

32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, with oversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary.

33 From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. 34 And those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above, were six thousand two hundred. 35 The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. (AP)These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And (AQ)the appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them, 37 and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords.

38 (AR)Moreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, (AS)keeping charge of the sanctuary, (AT)to meet the needs of the children of Israel; but (AU)the outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 (AV)All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, by their families, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand.

Levites Dedicated Instead of the Firstborn

40 Then the Lord said to Moses: (AW)“Number[g] all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names. 41 (AX)And you shall take the Levites for Me—I am the Lord—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 So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the children of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names from a month old and above, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 45 (AY)“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine: I am the Lord. 46 And for (AZ)the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, (BA)who are more than the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take (BB)five shekels for each one (BC)individually; you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, (BD)the shekel of twenty gerahs. 48 And you shall give the money, with 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 who were redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, (BE)one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses (BF)gave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 3:1 Lit. generations
  2. Numbers 3:3 Lit. whose hands he filled
  3. Numbers 3:9 Sam., LXX Me
  4. Numbers 3:16 Lit. mouth
  5. Numbers 3:28 Some LXX mss. three
  6. Numbers 3:28 taking care of
  7. Numbers 3:40 Take a census of

The Levites

This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses(A) at the time the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai.(B)

The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn(C) and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.(D) Those were the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests,(E) who were ordained to serve as priests. Nadab and Abihu, however, died before the Lord(F) when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai.(G) They had no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar(H) served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.(I)

The Lord said to Moses, “Bring the tribe of Levi(J) and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.(K) They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community(L) at the tent of meeting by doing the work(M) of the tabernacle. They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons;(N) they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him.[a] 10 Appoint Aaron(O) and his sons to serve as priests;(P) anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.”(Q)

11 The Lord also said to Moses, 12 “I have taken the Levites(R) from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring(S) of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine,(T) 13 for all the firstborn are mine.(U) When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord.”(V)

14 The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai,(W) 15 “Count(X) the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more.”(Y) 16 So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.

17 These were the names of the sons of Levi:(Z)

Gershon,(AA) Kohath(AB) and Merari.(AC)

18 These were the names of the Gershonite clans:

Libni and Shimei.(AD)

19 The Kohathite clans:

Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.(AE)

20 The Merarite clans:(AF)

Mahli and Mushi.(AG)

These were the Levite clans, according to their families.

21 To Gershon(AH) belonged the clans of the Libnites and Shimeites;(AI) these were the Gershonite clans. 22 The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500. 23 The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle.(AJ) 24 The leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25 At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the tabernacle(AK) and tent, its coverings,(AL) the curtain at the entrance(AM) to the tent of meeting,(AN) 26 the curtains of the courtyard(AO), the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar,(AP) and the ropes(AQ)—and everything(AR) related to their use.

27 To Kohath(AS) belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites;(AT) these were the Kohathite(AU) clans. 28 The number of all the males a month old or more(AV) was 8,600.[b] The Kohathites were responsible(AW) for the care of the sanctuary.(AX) 29 The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side(AY) of the tabernacle. 30 The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan(AZ) son of Uzziel. 31 They were responsible for the care of the ark,(BA) the table,(BB) the lampstand,(BC) the altars,(BD) the articles(BE) of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain,(BF) and everything related to their use.(BG) 32 The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar(BH) son of Aaron, the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible(BI) for the care of the sanctuary.(BJ)

33 To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites;(BK) these were the Merarite clans.(BL) 34 The number of all the males a month old or more(BM) who were counted was 6,200. 35 The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.(BN) 36 The Merarites were appointed(BO) to take care of the frames of the tabernacle,(BP) its crossbars,(BQ) posts,(BR) bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use,(BS) 37 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard(BT) with their bases, tent pegs(BU) and ropes.

38 Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east(BV) of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the tent of meeting.(BW) They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary(BX) on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.(BY)

39 The total number of Levites counted(BZ) at the Lord’s command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000.(CA)

40 The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn Israelite males who are a month old or more(CB) and make a list of their names.(CC) 41 Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites,(CD) and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the Lord.”(CE)

42 So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. 43 The total number of firstborn males a month old or more,(CF) listed by name, was 22,273.(CG)

44 The Lord also said to Moses, 45 “Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine.(CH) I am the Lord.(CI) 46 To redeem(CJ) the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 47 collect five shekels[c](CK) for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel,(CL) which weighs twenty gerahs.(CM) 48 Give the money for the redemption(CN) of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons.”(CO)

49 So Moses collected the redemption money(CP) from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelites(CQ) he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels,[d](CR) according to the sanctuary shekel. 51 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 3:9 Most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text; some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also 8:16) to me
  2. Numbers 3:28 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts 8,300
  3. Numbers 3:47 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
  4. Numbers 3:50 That is, about 35 pounds or about 16 kilograms