Old/New Testament

3 At the time when the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, ² Aaron’s sons were:^[a] Nadab (his oldest), Abihu, Eleazar, Ithamar. ³ All were anointed as priests and set apart to minister at the Tabernacle. ⁴ But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai when they used unholy fire. And since they had no children, this left only Eleazar and Ithamar to assist their father, Aaron.

⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Summon the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron as his assistants. ^7-9 They will follow his instructions and perform the sacred duties at the Tabernacle on behalf of all the people of Israel. For they are assigned to him as representatives of all the people of Israel. They are in charge of all the furnishings and maintenance of the Tabernacle. ¹⁰ However, only Aaron and his sons may carry out the duties of the priesthood; anyone else who presumes to assume this office shall be executed.”

^11-12 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have accepted the Levites in substitution for all the oldest sons of the people of Israel. The Levites are mine ¹³ in exchange for all the oldest sons. From the day I killed all the oldest sons of the Egyptians, I took for myself all the firstborn in Israel of both men and animals! They are mine; I am Jehovah.”

^14-15 The Lord now spoke again to Moses at the Sinai peninsula, telling him, “Take a census of the tribe of Levi, indicating each person’s clan; count every male down to one month old.” ^16-24 So Moses did:

^25-30 Responsibilities:

The responsibility of these two clans of Levites was the care of the Tabernacle: its coverings, its entry drapes, the drapes covering the fence surrounding the courtyard, the screen at the entrance of the courtyard surrounding the Tabernacle, the altar, and all the ropes used in tying the Tabernacle together.

^31-35 Responsibilities:

The responsibility of these four clans of Levites was the care of the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the various utensils used in the Tabernacle, the veil, and any repairs needed on any of these items. (Note: Eleazar, Aaron’s son, shall be the chief administrator over the leaders of the Levites, with special responsibility for the oversight of the sanctuary.)

^36-37 Responsibilities:

The responsibility of these two clans was the care of the frames of the Tabernacle building; the posts; the bases for the posts, and all of the equipment needed for their use; the posts around the courtyard and their bases, pegs, and ropes.

³⁸ The area east of the Tabernacle was reserved for the tents of Moses and of Aaron and his sons, who had the final responsibility for the Tabernacle on behalf of the people of Israel. (Anyone who was not a priest or Levite, but came into the Tabernacle, was to be executed.)

³⁹ So all the Levites, as numbered by Moses and Aaron at the command of the Lord, were 22,000 males one month old and older.

⁴⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now take a census of all the eldest sons in Israel who are one month old and older, and register each name. ⁴¹ The Levites shall be mine (I am Jehovah) as substitutes for the eldest sons of Israel; and the Levites’ cattle are mine as substitutes for the firstborn cattle of the whole nation.”

⁴² So Moses took a census of the eldest sons of the people of Israel, as the Lord had commanded, ⁴³ and found the total number of eldest sons one month old and older to be 22,273.

⁴⁴ Now the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Give me the Levites instead of the eldest sons of the people of Israel; and give me the cattle of the Levites instead of the firstborn cattle of the people of Israel; yes, the Levites shall be mine; I am Jehovah. ⁴⁶ To redeem the 273 eldest sons in excess of the number of Levites, ^47-48 pay five dollars for each one to Aaron and his sons.”

⁴⁹ So Moses received redemption money for the 273 eldest sons of Israel who were in excess of the number of Levites. (All the others were redeemed because the Levites had been given to the Lord in their place.) ⁵⁰ The money collected came to a total of $1,365.$1,365, literally, “1,365 shekels after the shekel of the sanctuary.” ⁵¹ And Moses gave it to Aaron and his sons as the Lord had commanded.

4 ^1-2 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take a census of the Kohath division of the Levite tribe. ³ This census will be of all males from ages thirty to fifty who are able to work in the Tabernacle. ⁴ These are their sacred duties:

⁵ “When the camp moves, Aaron and his sons will enter the Tabernacle first and take down the veil and cover the Ark with it. ⁶ Then they will cover the veil with goatskin leather, cover the goatskins with a blue cloth, and place the carrying poles of the Ark in their rings.

⁷ “Next they must spread a blue cloth over the table where the Bread of the Presence is displayed, and place the dishes, spoons, bowls, cups, and the Bread upon the cloth. ⁸ They will spread a scarlet cloth over that, and finally a covering of goatskin leather on top of the scarlet cloth. Then they shall insert the carrying poles into the table.

⁹ “Next they must cover with a blue cloth the lampstand, the lamps, snuffers, trays, and the reservoir of olive oil. ¹⁰ This entire group of objects shall then be covered with goatskin leather, and the bundle shall be placed upon a carrying frame.

¹¹ “They must then spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, cover it with a covering of goatskin leather, and insert the carrying poles into the altar. ¹² All of the remaining utensils of the Tabernacle are to be wrapped in a blue cloth, covered with goatskin leather, and placed on the carrying frame.

¹³ “The ashes are to be removed from the altar, and the altar shall be covered with a purple cloth. ¹⁴ All of the altar utensils are to be placed upon the cloth—the firepans, hooks, shovels, basins, and other containers—and a cover of goatskin leather will be spread over them. Finally, the carrying poles are to be put in place. ¹⁵ When Aaron and his sons have finished packing the sanctuary and all the utensils, the clan of Kohath shall come and carry the units to wherever the camp is traveling; but they must not touch the holy items, lest they die. This, then, is the sacred work of the sons of Kohath.

¹⁶ “Aaron’s son Eleazar shall be responsible for the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil—in fact, the supervision of the entire Tabernacle and everything in it will be his responsibility.”

^17-19 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Don’t let the families of Kohath destroy themselves! This is what you must do so that they will not die when they carry the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in with them and point out what each is to carry. ²⁰ Otherwise they must never enter the sanctuary for even a moment, lest they look at the sacred objects there and die.”

^21-23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Take a census of the Gershonite division of the tribe of Levi, all of the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible for the sacred work of the Tabernacle. ²⁴ These will be their duties:

²⁵ “They will carry the curtains of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle itself with its coverings, the goatskin leather roof, and the curtain for the Tabernacle entrance. ²⁶ They are also to carry the drapes covering the courtyard fence, and the curtain across the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the altar and the Tabernacle. They will also carry the altar, the ropes, and all of the accessories. They are fully responsible for the transportation of these items. ²⁷ Aaron or any of his sons may assign the Gershonites’ tasks to them, ²⁸ but the Gershonites will be directly responsible to Aaron’s son Ithamar.

²⁹ “Now take a census of the Merari division of the Levite tribe, all of the men from thirty to fifty who are eligible for the Tabernacle service. ^30-31 When the Tabernacle is moved, they are to carry the frames of the Tabernacle, the bars, the bases, ³² the frames for the courtyard fence with their bases, pegs, cords, and everything else connected with their use and repair. Assign duties to each man by name. ³³ The Merari division will also report to Aaron’s son Ithamar.”

³⁴ So Moses and Aaron and the other leaders took a census of the Kohath division, ³⁵ including all of the men thirty to fifty years of age who were eligible for the Tabernacle service, ³⁶ and found that the total number was 2,750. ³⁷ All this was done to carry out the Lord’s instructions to Moses. ^38-41 A similar census of the Gershon division totaled 2,630. ^42-45 And of the Merari division, 3,200. ^46-48 Thus Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel found that the total of all the Levites who were thirty to fifty years old and who were eligible for the Tabernacle service and transportation was 8,580. ⁴⁹ This census was taken in response to the Lord’s instructions to Moses.

²⁰ When he returned to the house where he was staying, the crowds began to gather again, and soon it was so full of visitors that he couldn’t even find time to eat. ²¹ When his friends heard what was happening, they came to try to take him home with them.

“He’s out of his mind,” they said.

²² But the Jewish teachers of religion who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “His trouble is that he’s possessed by Satan, king of demons. That’s why demons obey him.”

²³ Jesus summoned these men and asked them (using proverbs they all understood), “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ A kingdom divided against itself will collapse. ²⁵ A home filled with strife and division destroys itself. ²⁶ And if Satan is fighting against himself, how can he accomplish anything? He would never survive. ²⁷ Satan must be bound before his demons are cast out,^[a] just as a strong man must be tied up before his house can be ransacked and his property robbed.

²⁸ “I solemnly declare that any sin of man can be forgiven, even blasphemy against me; ²⁹ but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven. It is an eternal sin.”

³⁰ He told them this because they were saying he did his miracles by Satan’s power instead of acknowledging it was by the Holy Spirit’s power.^[b]

^31-32 Now his mother and brothers arrived at the crowded house where he was teaching, and they sent word for him to come out and talk with them. “Your mother and brothers are outside and want to see you,” he was told.

³³ He replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ³⁴ Looking at those around him he said, “These are my mother and brothers! ³⁵ Anyone who does God’s will is my brother, and my sister, and my mother.”