Numbers 3 - Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Aaron’s Sons and the Levites

3 These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.^{(A) 2} These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³ These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴ But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire^(B) before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father.^(C)

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. ⁷ They are to perform duties for^[a] him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁸ They are to take care of^[b] all the furnishings of the tent of meeting^(D) and perform duties for^[c] the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁹ Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him^[d] from the Israelites.^{(E) 10} You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”^(F)

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹² “See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.^(G) The Levites belong to Me, ¹³ because every firstborn belongs to Me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,^(H) I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to Myself, both man and animal. They are Mine; I am Yahweh.”^(I)

The Levitical Census

¹⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: ¹⁵ “Register the Levites by their ancestral houses and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.” ¹⁶ So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:

¹⁷ These were Levi’s sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸ These were the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹ Kohath’s sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰ Merari’s sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral houses.^(J)

²¹ The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. ²² Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. ²³ The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side,^{(K) 24} and the leader of the Gershonite family was Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵ The Gershonites’ duties^(L) at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,^{(M) 26} the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance^(N) to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes—all the work relating to these.

²⁷ The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. ²⁸ Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600^[e] responsible for the duties of^[f] the sanctuary. ²⁹ The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle,^{(O) 30} and the leader of the family of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹ Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen^[g](P)—and all the work relating to them.^{(Q) 32} The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar^(R) son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of^[h] the sanctuary.

³³ The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. ³⁴ Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. ³⁵ The leader of the family of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle.^{(S) 36} The assigned duties of Merari’s descendants involved the tabernacle’s supports, crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these,^{(T) 37} in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.

³⁸ Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of^[i] the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east,^(U) in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death.^(V)

³⁹ The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron^[j] registered by their clans at the Lord’s command was 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

⁴⁰ The Lord told Moses: “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites^(W) one month old or more, and list their names. ⁴¹ You are to take the Levites for Me—I am Yahweh—in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.” ⁴² So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. ⁴³ The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.

⁴⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses again: ⁴⁵ “Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to Me; I am Yahweh.^{(X) 46} As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷ collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel—20 gerahs to the shekel.^{(Y) 48} Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”

⁴⁹ So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰ He collected the money from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels^[k] measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹ He gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

1. Numbers 3:7 Or to guard
2. Numbers 3:8 Or to guard
3. Numbers 3:8 Or and guard
4. Numbers 3:9 Some Hb mss, LXX, Sam read Me; Nm 8:16
5. Numbers 3:28 LXX reads 8,300
6. Numbers 3:28 Or for guarding
7. Numbers 3:31 The screen between the most holy place and the holy place; Ex 35:12
8. Numbers 3:32 Or for guarding
9. Numbers 3:38 Or who guarded
10. Numbers 3:39 Some Hb mss, Sam, Syr omit and Aaron
11. Numbers 3:50 Over 34 pounds of silver

Cross references

1. 3:1 : Ex 19:3
2. 3:4 : Lv 10:1-2
3. 3:4 : Lv 10:6; Nm 4:16, 28, 33
4. 3:8 : Nm 1:50, 53
5. 3:9 : Nm 8:16, 19, 22; 18:6
6. 3:10 : Nm 1:51; 3:38; 8:19; 18:7
7. 3:12 : Ex 13:1-2; Nm 8:16-18
8. 3:13 : Ex 13:15-16
9. 3:13 : Ex 3:14-16; 6:6-7; Nm 3:41, 45
10. 3:17-20 : Ex 6:17-19; 1Ch 6:1, 16, 20-29
11. 3:23 : Nm 2:18-24
12. 3:25-26 : Nm 4:24-26
13. 3:25 : Ex 26:7, 14, 36-37; 35:11, 15
14. 3:26 : Ex 27:9-19; 35:17-18; 38:9-31
15. 3:29 : Nm 2:10-16
16. 3:31 : Ex 35:12
17. 3:31 : Ex 25:10–27:21
18. 3:32 : Ex 6:23-25; 28:1; Lv 10:6, 12, 16; Nm 3:2, 4
19. 3:35 : Nm 2:25-31
20. 3:36-37 : Ex 35:1-13; Nm 4:31-32
21. 3:38 : Nm 2:3-9
22. 3:38 : Nm 1:51; 3:10; 8:19; 18:7
23. 3:40 : Ex 13:1-2; Nm 8:16-18
24. 3:45 : Nm 3:13, 41; 10:10; 15:40-41
25. 3:47 : Nm 18:16