1 And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day in which the Lord spoke to Moses in Mount Sinai. 2 And these 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 anointed priests whom they consecrated to the priesthood. 4 And Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children; and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priests’ office with Aaron their father.

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 Take the tribe of Levi, and thou shalt set them before Aaron the priest, and they shall minister to him, 7 and shall keep his charges, and the charges of the children of Israel, before the tabernacle of witness, to do the works of the tabernacle. 8 And they shall keep all the furniture of the tabernacle of witness, and the charges of the children of Israel as to all the works of the tabernacle. 9 And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron, and to his sons the priests; they are given for a gift to me of the children of Israel. 10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons over the tabernacle of witness; and they shall keep their charge of priesthood, and all things belonging to the altar, and within the veil; and the stranger that touches them shall die. 11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 Behold, I have taken the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, instead of every male that opens the womb from among the children of Israel: they shall be their ransom, and the Levites shall be mine. 13 For every firstborn is mine; in the day in which I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to myself every firstborn in Israel: both of man and beast, they shall be mine: I am the Lord.

14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 Take the number of the sons of Levi, according to the houses of their families, according to their divisions; number ye them every male from a month old and upward. 16 And Moses and Aaron numbered them by the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded them.

17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon according to their families; Libni and Shimei: 19 and the sons of Kohath according to their families; Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel: 20 and the sons of Merari according to their families, Mahli and Mushi; these are the families of the Levites according to the houses of their families. 21 To Gershon belongs the family of Libni, and the family of Shimei: these are the families of Gershon. 22 The numbering of them according to the number of every male from a month old and upward, their numbering was seven thousand and five hundred. 23 And the sons of Gershon shall encamp westward behind the tabernacle. 24 And the ruler of the household of the family of Gershon was Eliasaph the son of Lael. 25 And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of witness was the tent and the veil, and the covering of the door of the tabernacle of witness, 26 and the curtains of the court, and the veil of the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and the remainder of all its works.

27 To Kohath belonged one division, that of Amram, and another division, that of Izhar, and another division, that of Hebron, and another division, that of Uzziel: these are the divisions of Kohath, according to number. 28 Every male from a month old and upward, eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charges of the holy things. 29 The families of the sons of Kohath, shall encamp beside the tabernacle toward the south. 30 And the chief of the house of the families of the divisions of Kohath, was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

31 And their charge was the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and all the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they do holy service, and the veil, and all their works. 32 And the chief over the chief of the Levites, was Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, appointed to keep the charges of the holy things. 33 To Merari belonged the family of Mahli, and the family of Mushi: these are the families of Merari. 34 The mustering of them according to number, every male from a month old and upward, was six thousand and fifty. 35 And the head of the house of the families of the division of Merari, was Zuriel the son of Abihail: they shall encamp by the side of the tabernacle northward. 36 The oversight of the charge of the sons of Merari included the chapiters of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all their furniture, and their works, 37 and the pillars of the court round about, and their bases, and their pins, and their cords.

38 They that encamp before the tabernacle of witness on the east shall be Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charges of the sanctuary according to the charges of the children of Israel; and the stranger that touches them, shall die. 39 All the numbering of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word of the Lord, according to their families, every male from a month old and upward, were two and twenty thousand.

40 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Count every firstborn male of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number by name. 41 And thou shalt take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the children of Israel. 42 And Moses counted, as the Lord commanded him, every firstborn among the children of Israel. 43 And all the male firstborn in number by name, from a month old and upward, were according to their numbering twenty-two thousand and two hundred and seventy-three. 44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine; I am the Lord. 46 And for the ransoms of the two hundred and seventy-three which exceed the Levites in number of the firstborn of the sons of Israel; 47 thou shalt even take five shekels a head; thou shalt take them according to the holy didrachma, twenty oboli to the shekel. 48 And thou shalt give the money to Aaron and to his sons, the ransom of those who exceed in number among them. 49 And Moses took the silver, the ransom of those that exceeded in number the redemption of the Levites. 50 He took the silver from the firstborn of the sons of Israel, a thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the holy shekel. 51 And Moses gave the ransom of them that were over to Aaron and his sons, by the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.