The Sons of Aaron
1 Now thesearetherecords of Aaron and Moses when theLordspoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 And thesearethe names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, thefirstborn, andAbihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 Thesearethe names of the sons of Aaron,the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to minister as priests.
4 Nadab and Abihu had died before theLordwhen they offered profane fire before theLordin 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
5 And theLordspoke to Moses, saying:
6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.
7 And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to dothe work of the tabernacle.
8 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.
9 Andyou shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; theyaregiven entirely to him from among the children of Israel.
10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons,and they shall attend to their priesthood;but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
11 Then theLordspoke to Moses, saying:
12 “Now behold,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 beMine,
13 becauseall the firstbornareMine.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: IamtheLord.”
Census of the Levites Commanded
14 Then theLordspoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying:
15 “Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families; you shall numberevery male from a month old and above.”
16 So Moses numbered them according to the word of theLord, as he was commanded.
17 These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 And thesearethe names of the sons ofGershon by their families:Libni and Shimei.
19 And the sons ofKohath by their families:Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. Thesearethe families of the Levites by their fathers’ houses.
21 From Gershoncamethe family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; thesewerethe 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 numberedtherewereseven thousand five hundred.
23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward.
24 And the leader of the father’s house of the GershoniteswasEliasaph the son of Lael.
25 The duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meetingincludedthe tabernacle,the tent withits covering, thescreen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting,
26 the screen for the door of the court,the hangings of the court whicharearound the tabernacle and the altar, andtheir cords, according to all the work relating to them.
27 From Kohathcamethe family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; thesewerethe families of the Kohathites.
28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and above,therewereeight thousand six hundred keeping charge of the sanctuary.
29 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 KohathiteswasElizaphan the son ofUzziel.
31 Their dutyincludedthe ark,the table,the lampstand,the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered,the screen, and all the work relating to them.
32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priestwastobechief over the leaders of the Levites,withoversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary.
33 From Meraricamethe family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; thesewerethe families of Merari.
34 And those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above,weresix thousand two hundred.
35 The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of MerariwasZuriel the son of Abihail.Thesewereto camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
36 Andthe appointed duty of the children of Merariincludedthe 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 Moreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of meeting,wereMoses, Aaron, and his sons,keeping charge of the sanctuary,to meet the needs of the children of Israel; butthe outsider 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 theLord, by their families, all the males from a month old and above,weretwenty-two thousand.
Levites Dedicated Instead of the Firstborn
40 Then theLordsaid to Moses:“Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names.
41 And you shall take the Levites for Me—IamtheLord—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 theLordcommanded 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 theLordspoke 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. The Levites shall be Mine: IamtheLord.
46 And forthe redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel,who are more than the number of the Levites,
47 you shall takefive shekels for each oneindividually; you shall takethemin the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary,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,one thousand three hundred and sixty-fiveshekels,according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
51 And Mosesgave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of theLord, as theLordcommanded Moses.