| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Now these are the records of Aaron and Moses when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. | 1These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. |
| 2And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. | 2These are the names of Aaron's sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. |
| 3These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to minister as priests. | 3These are the names of Aaron's sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. |
| 4Nadab and Abihu had died before the LORD when they offered profane fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the presence of Aaron their father. | 4But Nadab and Abihu died in the LORD's presence when they presented unauthorized fire 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. |
| 5And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: | 5The LORD spoke to Moses: " |
| 6“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. | 6Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. |
| 7And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. | 7They are to perform duties for him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. |
| 8Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. | 8They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. |
| 9And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. | 9Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites. |
| 10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” | 10You 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." |
| 11Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: | 11The LORD spoke to Moses: " |
| 12“Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, | 12See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to Me, |
| 13because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the LORD.” | 13because every firstborn belongs to Me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to Myself, both man and animal. They are Mine; I am Yahweh." |
| 14Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying: | 14The LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: " |
| 15“Number the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families; you shall number every male from a month old and above.” | 15Register the Levites by their ancestral houses and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more." |
| 16So Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. | 16So Moses registered them in obedience to the LORD as he had been commanded: |
| 17These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. | 17These were Levi's sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. |
| 18And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei. | 18These were the names of Gershon's sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. |
| 19And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. | 19Kohath's sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. |
| 20And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ houses. | 20Merari's sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral houses. |
| 21From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; these were the families of the Gershonites. | 21The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. |
| 22Those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above—of those who were numbered there were seven thousand five hundred. | 22Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. |
| 23The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward. | 23The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side, |
| 24And the leader of the father’s house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael. | 24and the leader of the Gershonite family was Eliasaph son of Lael. |
| 25The duties of the children of Gershon in the tabernacle of meeting included the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, | 25The Gershonites' duties at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, |
| 26the screen for the door of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords, according to all the work relating to them. | 26the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes--all the work relating to these. |
| 27From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. | 27The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. |
| 28According to the number of all the males, from a month old and above, there were eight thousand six hundred keeping charge of the sanctuary. | 28Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600 responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. |
| 29The families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. | 29The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle, |
| 30And the leader of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. | 30and the leader of the family of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. |
| 31Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them. | 31Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen--and all the work relating to them. |
| 32And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, with oversight of those who kept charge of the sanctuary. | 32The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. |
| 33From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. | 33The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. |
| 34And those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above, were six thousand two hundred. | 34Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. |
| 35The leader of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. | 35The leader of the family of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle. |
| 36And the appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them, | 36The assigned duties of Merari's descendants involved the tabernacle's supports, crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these, |
| 37and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords. | 37in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes. |
| 38Moreover those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tabernacle of meeting, were Moses, Aaron, and his sons, keeping charge of the sanctuary, to meet the needs of the children of Israel; but the outsider who came near was to be put to death. | 38Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death. |
| 39All who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, by their families, all the males from a month old and above, were twenty-two thousand. | 39The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron registered by their clans at the LORD's command was 22,000. |
| 40Then the LORD said to Moses: “Number all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and above, and take the number of their names. | 40The LORD told Moses: "Register every firstborn male of the Israelites one month old or more, and list their names. |
| 41And you shall take the Levites for Me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel.” | 41You 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." |
| 42So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the children of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. | 42So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the LORD commanded him. |
| 43And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names from a month old and above, of those who were numbered of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three. | 43The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273. |
| 44Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: | 44The LORD spoke to Moses again:" |
| 45“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine: I am the LORD. | 45Take 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. |
| 46And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, who are more than the number of the Levites, | 46As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, |
| 47you shall take five shekels for each one individually; you shall take them in the currency of the shekel of the sanctuary, the shekel of twenty gerahs. | 47collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel--20 gerahs to the shekel. |
| 48And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed, to Aaron and his sons.” | 48Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites." |
| 49So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed by the Levites. | 49So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. |
| 50From the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. | 50He collected the money from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. |
| 51And Moses gave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. | 51He gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the LORD, just as the LORD commanded Moses. |
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