The Sons of Aaron
1 Now this is the history of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai. 2 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 priests who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office. 4 Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the presence of Aaron their father.
Duties of the Levites
5 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep his requirements and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8 They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting and the obligations of the Israelites, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9 You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on behalf of the Israelites. 10 You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood, but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”
Registration of the Levites
11 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among the Israelites, and the Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made all the firstborn in Israel holy to me, both man and animal. They shall be mine. I am the Lord.”
14 The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “Count the descendants of Levi by their ancestral houses, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old and up.”
16 Moses counted them according to the Lord’s word, as he was commanded.
17 These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.
19 The sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 The sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi.
These are the families of the Levites according to their ancestral houses.
The Gershonites
21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites.
22 Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and up, the ones who were counted were 7,500.
23 The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle to the west.
24 Eliasaph the son of Lael shall be the leader of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. 25 The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and its cords for all of its service.
The Kohathites
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 are the families of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males from a month old and up, there were 8,600 keeping the requirements of the sanctuary.
29 The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31 Their duty shall be the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, the screen, and all its service. 32 Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be leader of the leaders of the Levites, with the oversight of those who keep the requirements of the sanctuary.
The Merarites
33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari. 34 Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and up, were 6,200.
35 The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its service, 37 the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords.
Moses and Aaron
38 Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the Israelites. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. 39 All who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the commandment of the Lord, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000.
Firstborn Sons Redeemed
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn males of the Israelites from a month old and up, and take the number of their names. 41 You shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the Israelites; and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the Israelites.”
42 Moses counted, as the Lord commanded him, all the firstborn among the Israelites. 43 All the firstborn males according to the number of names from a month old and up, of those who were counted of them, were 22,273.
44 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord. 46 For the redemption of the 273 of the firstborn of the Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels apiece for each one. According to the shekel of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs), 48 and you shall give the money, with which their remainder is redeemed, to Aaron and to his sons.
49 Moses took the redemption money from those who exceeded the number of those who were redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money, 1,365 according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of God, as the Lord commanded Moses.