﻿Numbers.
Chapter 3.
This is the family record of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 
These are the names of Aaron's sons: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 
These are the names of Aaron's sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 
But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they presented unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai. They had no sons, and Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the presence of Aaron their father. 
The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 
“Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aaron the priest, so that they may serve him. 
They shall keep his charge and the charge of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to perform the service of the tabernacle. 
They shall care for all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting and keep the charge of the Israelites, to perform the service of the tabernacle. 
You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They are wholly given to him from among the Israelites. 
You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood. Any unauthorized person who comes near must be put to death.” 
The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 
“Look, I myself have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of every firstborn who opens the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be mine. 
For every firstborn is mine. On the day I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to myself every firstborn in Israel, both human and animal. They shall be mine. I am the LORD.” 
The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai and said, 
“Register the descendants of Levi by their ancestral households and their clans. You shall register every male one month old and upward.” 
Moses registered them at the LORD's command, as he had been commanded. 
These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 
These are the names of Gershon's sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 
The sons of Kohath by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 
The sons of Merari by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites by their ancestral households. 
From Gershon came the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites. These are the clans of the Gershonites. 
Those registered from them, counting every male one month old and upward—their registered number was seven thousand five hundred. 
The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle, on the west. 
The leader of the ancestral household of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. 
The descendants of Gershon had charge of these things at the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, and the screen at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, 
the hangings of the courtyard, the screen at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords, for all its service. 
From Kohath came the clan of the Amramites, the clan of the Izharites, the clan of the Hebronites, and the clan of the Uzzielites. These are the clans of the Kohathites. 
Counting every male one month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, keeping charge of the sanctuary. 
The clans of the descendants of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 
The leader of the ancestral household of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 
They had charge of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary furnishings used in service, the screen, and all its service. 
The leader over the leaders of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. He had oversight of those keeping charge of the sanctuary. 
From Merari came the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites. These are the clans of Merari. 
Those registered from them, counting every male one month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred. 
The leader of the ancestral household of the clans of Merari was Zuriel son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 
The descendants of Merari were assigned charge of the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, all its furnishings, and all its service, 
and the pillars around the courtyard, their bases, their pegs, and their cords. 
Those camping in front of the tabernacle on the east, before the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, keeping charge of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Any unauthorized person who came near was to be put to death. 
All the Levites whom Moses and Aaron registered at the LORD's command, by their clans, every male one month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand. 
The LORD said to Moses, “Register every firstborn male among the Israelites one month old and upward, and count their names. 
Take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of every firstborn among the livestock of the Israelites.” 
Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the LORD had commanded him. 
All the firstborn males one month old and upward, counted by name in their registration, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three. 
The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 
“Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites shall be mine. I am the LORD. 
For the redemption of the two hundred seventy-three firstborn of the Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 
you shall take about two ounces of silver per person. You shall take it according to the sanctuary shekel; the shekel is twenty gerahs. 
Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those in excess.” 
Moses took the redemption silver from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites. 
He took the silver from the firstborn of the Israelites, about thirty-four pounds according to the sanctuary weight. 
Moses gave the redemption silver to Aaron and his sons at the LORD's command, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 
