^aNow these are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when Yahweh spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 ^aThese then 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 ^aanointed priests, whom he ¹ordained to minister as priests. 4 ^aBut Nadab and Abihu died before Yahweh when they offered strange fire before Yahweh in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests ¹in the lifetime of their father Aaron.

5 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “^aBring the tribe of Levi near and have them stand before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 And they shall keep his responsibility and the responsibility for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to perform the ^aservice of the tabernacle. 8 They shall also keep all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the responsibility of the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the ¹tabernacle. 9 You shall thus ^agive the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the sons of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that ^athey may keep their priesthood, but ^bthe ¹outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

11 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Now, behold, I ^ahave taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every ^bfirstborn, the first offspring of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. 13 For ^aall the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am Yahweh.”

14 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses ^ain the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “^1aNumber the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall ²number.” 16 So Moses numbered them according to the ¹word of Yahweh, just as he had been commanded. 17 ^aThese then are the sons of Levi by their names:

21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22 Their numbered men, in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, even their numbered men were 7,500. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward, 24 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

25 Now ^athe responsibility of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle and ^bthe tent, its covering, and ^cthe screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting, 26 and ^athe hangings of the court, and ^bthe screen for the doorway of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords, according to all the service ¹concerning them.

27 Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites and the family of the Izharites and the family of the Hebronites and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. 28 In the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping the responsibility of the sanctuary. 29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the southward side of the tabernacle, 30 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families was ¹Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31 Now ^atheir responsibility involved ^bthe ark, ^cthe table, ^dthe lampstand, ^ethe altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the screen, and all the service ¹concerning them; 32 and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the chief of the leaders of Levi and had the oversight of those who keep the responsibility of the sanctuary.

33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. 34 And their numbered men, in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200. 35 And the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to ^acamp on the northward side of the tabernacle. 36 Now the appointed responsibility of the sons of Merari involved the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, all its equipment, and the service concerning them, 37 and the pillars around the court with their bases and their pegs and their cords.

38 Now those who were to ^acamp before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the responsibility of the sanctuary for the responsibility of the sons of Israel; but ^bthe ¹outsider coming near was to be put to death. 39 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the ¹command of Yahweh by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were ^a22,000.

40 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “^aNumber every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and ¹make a list of their names. 41 And you ^ashall take the Levites for Me, I am Yahweh, instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.” 42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, just as Yahweh had commanded him; 43 and all the firstborn males by the number of names from a month old and upward, for their numbered men were ^a22,273.

44 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “^aTake the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel and the cattle of the Levites. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am Yahweh. 46 ^aFor the redemption price of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites, 47 you shall take ^afive ¹shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in ^bterms of the shekel of the sanctuary ^c(the shekel is twenty ²gerahs), 48 and give the money, the redemption price of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” 49 So Moses took the money of the redemption price from those who were in excess, beyond those redeemed by the Levites; 50 from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, 1,365. 51 Then Moses gave the money of the redemption price to Aaron and to his sons, at the ¹command of Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

^aNow these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 ^aThese then 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 ^aanointed priests, whom he ¹ordained to serve as priests. 4 ^aBut Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the LORD when they offered ¹strange fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests ²in the lifetime of their father Aaron.

5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “^aBring the tribe of Levi forward and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 They shall perform the duties for ¹him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, to do the ^aservice of the tabernacle. 8 They shall also take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9 So you shall ^aassign the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are exclusively assigned to him from the sons of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that ^athey may ¹keep their priesthood, but ^bthe ²layman who comes near shall be put to death.”

11 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Now, behold, I ^ahave taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every ^bfirstborn, the firstborn of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. 13 For ^aall the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from the human firstborn to animals. They shall be Mine; I am the LORD.”

14 Then the LORD spoke to Moses ^ain the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “^1aCount the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall count.” 16 So Moses counted them according to the ¹word of the LORD, just as he had been commanded. 17 ^aThese, then, are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the ^asons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; 19 and the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel; 20 and the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.

21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22 Their numbered men, in the counting of every male from a month old and upward, their numbered men were 7,500. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the ¹tabernacle westward, 24 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites: Eliasaph the son of Lael.

25 Now ^athe duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle and ^bthe tent, its covering, and ^cthe curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 and ^athe curtains of the courtyard, ^bthe curtain for the entrance of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its ropes, according to all the service ¹concerning them.

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 were the families of the Kohathites. 28 In the counting of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, performing the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families: ¹Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31 Now ^atheir duties included ^bthe ark, ^cthe table, ^dthe lampstand, ^ethe altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, the ¹curtain, and all the service ²concerning them; 32 and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the head of the leaders of Levi, and he had the supervision of those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.

33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. 34 Their numbered men in the counting of every male from a month old and upward: 6,200. 35 And the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to ^acamp on the northward side of the tabernacle. 36 Now the appointment of duties of the sons of Merari included the framework of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, all its equipment, and all the service concerning them, 37 and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases, their pegs, and their ropes.

38 Now those who were to ^acamp in front of the tabernacle eastward, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; but ^bthe ¹layman coming near was to be put to death. 39 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the ¹command of the LORD by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were ^atwenty-two thousand.

40 Then the LORD said to Moses, “^aCount every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and ¹make a list of their names. 41 And you ^ashall take the Levites for Me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.” 42 So Moses counted all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, just as the LORD had commanded him; 43 and all the firstborn males, by the number of names from a month old and upward for their numbered men, were ^a22,273.

44 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “^aTake the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the LORD. 46 ^aAnd as ¹a redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess of the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take ^afive shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in ^bterms of the shekel of the sanctuary ^c(the shekel is twenty ¹gerahs), 48 and you shall give the money, the redemption price of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were in excess of the number of those redeemed by the Levites; 50 from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, 1,365. 51 Then Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, at the ¹command of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.