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Numbers 3 - Amplified Bible, 2015 bible

Numbers 3

¹Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day when the LORD spoke [by special revelation] with Moses on Mount Sinai.

²These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

³These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom Aaron[1] consecrated and ordained to minister in the priest's office.

⁴But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the LORD when they offered strange (unholy, unacceptable, inappropriate) fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests[2] in the presence and under the supervision of Aaron their father.

⁵Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁶"Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aaron the priest, so that they may serve him.

⁷They shall carry out the duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, doing the service of the tabernacle.

⁸They shall also take care of all the furnishings and utensils of the Tent of Meeting, and [attend to] the duties of the Israelites, doing the service of the tabernacle.

⁹You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons [as servants and helpers]; they are to be given wholly to him from among the Israelites.

¹⁰So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall observe and attend to their priesthood; but the layman (non-Levite) who approaches [the holy things] shall be put to death."

¹¹Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹²"Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of and as a substitute for every firstborn, that is, the first that opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites shall be Mine,

¹³for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine; I am the LORD."

¹⁴Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying,

¹⁵"Number the sons of Levi by their fathers' households, by their families (clans). You shall number every male from a month old and upward."

¹⁶So Moses numbered them just as he was commanded by the word (mouth) of the LORD.

¹⁷These are the [three] sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁸These are the names of the [two] sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei;

¹⁹and the [four] sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel;

²⁰and the [two] sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers' households.

²¹Of Gershon were the families of the Libnites and of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites.

²²The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled 7,500.

²³The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west,

²⁴and the leader of the fathers' households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

²⁵Now the responsibilities of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting involved the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain for the doorway of the Tent of Meeting,

²⁶and the hangings of the courtyard, the curtain for the doorway of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, its tent ropes, and all the service[3] concerning them.

²⁷Of Kohath were the families of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites.

²⁸The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled[4]8,600, attending to the duties of the sanctuary.

²⁹The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,

³⁰and the leader of the fathers' households of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

³¹Now their responsibilities involved the ark, the table [on which the bread of the Presence was placed], the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the curtain, and all the service concerning them.

³²Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, was chief of the leaders of the Levites; he supervised those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.

³³Of Merari were the families of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these are the families of Merari.

³⁴The males who were numbered, every male from a month old and upward totaled 6,200.

³⁵The leader of the fathers' households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. The Merarites were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.

³⁶Now the appointed responsibilities of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets or bases, and all the equipment, and all the service concerning them,

³⁷and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases and their pegs and their cords (tent ropes).

³⁸Now those to camp before the tabernacle toward the east, before the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise, were to be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for whatever was required of the Israelites; and the[5] layman (non-Levite) who approached [the sanctuary] was to be put to death.

³⁹All the men of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the[6] command of the LORD, by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were 22,000.

⁴⁰Then the LORD said to Moses, "Number every firstborn male of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and[7] make a list of their names.

⁴¹You shall take the Levites for Me instead of and as a substitute for all the firstborn among the Israelites. I am the LORD; and you shall take the cattle of the Levites instead of and as a substitute for all the firstborn among the cattle of the Israelites."

⁴²So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the Israelites, just as the LORD had commanded him;

⁴³and all the firstborn males from a month old and upward as numbered were 22,273 [273 more than the Levites].

⁴⁴Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁴⁵"Take the Levites [for Me] instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine. I am the LORD.

⁴⁶For the ransom (redemption price) of the 273 of the firstborn of the Israelites who outnumber the Levites,

⁴⁷you shall take five shekels apiece, per head, you shall take them in terms of the sanctuary shekel (the shekel is twenty gerahs),

⁴⁸and give the money, the ransom (redemption price) of those who outnumber the Levites to Aaron and to his sons."

⁴⁹So Moses took the ransom (redemption) money from those who were in excess, beyond those ransomed by the Levites;

⁵⁰from the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money in terms of the sanctuary shekel, 1,365 shekels.

⁵¹Then Moses gave the ransom money to Aaron and to his sons at the command of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.