| New Living Translation | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1This is the family line of Aaron and Moses as it was recorded when the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: | 1These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. |
| 2The names of Aaron’s sons were Nadab (the oldest), Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. | 2These are the names of Aaron's sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. |
| 3These sons of Aaron were anointed and ordained to minister as priests. | 3These are the names of Aaron's sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. |
| 4But Nadab and Abihu died in the LORD’s presence in the wilderness of Sinai when they burned before the LORD the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. Since they had no sons, this left only Eleazar and Ithamar to serve as priests with their father, Aaron. | 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. |
| 5Then the LORD said to Moses, | 5The LORD spoke to Moses: |
| 6“Call forward the tribe of Levi, and present them to Aaron the priest to serve as his assistants. | 6"Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. |
| 7They will serve Aaron and the whole community, performing their sacred duties in and around 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. |
| 8They will also maintain all the furnishings of the sacred tent, serving in the Tabernacle on behalf of all the Israelites. | 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. |
| 9Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They have been given from among all the people of Israel to serve as their assistants. | 9Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites. |
| 10Appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the sanctuary must 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 is to be put to death." |
| 11And the LORD said to Moses, | 11The LORD spoke to Moses: |
| 12“Look, I have chosen the Levites from among the Israelites to serve as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me, | 12"See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to me, |
| 13for all the firstborn males are mine. On the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both of people and of animals. They are mine; I am the LORD.” Registration of the Levites | 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 the LORD." |
| 14The LORD spoke again to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. He said, | 14The LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: |
| 15“Record the names of the members of the tribe of Levi by their families and clans. List every male who is one month old or older.” | 15"Register the Levites by their ancestral families and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more." |
| 16So Moses listed them, just as the LORD had commanded. | 16So Moses registered them in obedience to the LORD as he had been commanded: |
| 17Levi had three sons, whose names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. | 17These were Levi's sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. |
| 18The clans descended from Gershon were named after two of his descendants, Libni and Shimei. | 18These were the names of Gershon's sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. |
| 19The clans descended from Kohath were named after four of his descendants, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. | 19Kohath's sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. |
| 20The clans descended from Merari were named after two of his descendants, Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans, listed according to their family groups. | 20Merari's sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral families. |
| 21The descendants of Gershon were composed of the clans descended from Libni and Shimei. | 21The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. |
| 22There were 7,500 males one month old or older among these Gershonite clans. | 22Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. |
| 23They were assigned the area to the west of the Tabernacle for their camp. | 23The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side, |
| 24The leader of the Gershonite clans was Eliasaph son of Lael. | 24and the leader of the Gershonite families was Eliasaph son of Lael. |
| 25These two clans were responsible to care for the Tabernacle, including the sacred tent with its layers of coverings, the curtain at its entrance, | 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 curtains of the courtyard that surrounded the Tabernacle and altar, the curtain at the courtyard entrance, the ropes, and all the equipment related to their use. | 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. |
| 27The descendants of Kohath were composed of the clans descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. | 27The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. |
| 28There were 8,600 males one month old or older among these Kohathite clans. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary, | 28Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600 responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. |
| 29and they were assigned the area south of the Tabernacle for their camp. | 29The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle, |
| 30The leader of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. | 30and the leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. |
| 31These four clans were responsible for the care of the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the various articles used in the sanctuary, the inner curtain, and all the equipment related to their use. | 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. |
| 32Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, was the chief administrator over all the Levites, with special responsibility for the oversight 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. |
| 33The descendants of Merari were composed of the clans descended from Mahli and Mushi. | 33The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. |
| 34There were 6,200 males one month old or older among these Merarite clans. | 34Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. |
| 35They were assigned the area north of the Tabernacle for their camp. The leader of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail. | 35The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle. |
| 36These two clans were responsible for the care of the frames supporting the Tabernacle, the crossbars, the pillars, the bases, and all the equipment related to their use. | 36The assigned duties of Merari's descendants involved the tabernacle's supports, crossbars, pillars, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these, |
| 37They were also responsible for the posts of the courtyard and all their bases, pegs, and ropes. | 37in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes. |
| 38The area in front of the Tabernacle, in the east toward the sunrise, was reserved for the tents of Moses and of Aaron and his sons, who had the final responsibility for the sanctuary on behalf of the people of Israel. Anyone other than a priest or Levite who went too near the sanctuary 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. |
| 39When Moses and Aaron counted the Levite clans at the LORD’s command, the total number was 22,000 males one month old or older. Redeeming the Firstborn Sons | 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, “Now count all the firstborn sons in Israel who are one month old or older, and make a list of their names. | 40The LORD told Moses: "Register every firstborn male of the Israelites one month old or more, and list their names. |
| 41The Levites must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn sons of Israel; I am the LORD. And the Levites’ livestock must be reserved for me as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the whole nation of Israel.” | 41You are to take the Levites for me--I am the LORD--in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites' cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites' cattle." |
| 42So Moses counted the firstborn sons of the people of Israel, just as the LORD had commanded. | 42So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the LORD commanded him. |
| 43The number of firstborn sons who were one month old or older was 22,273. | 43The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273. |
| 44Then the LORD said to Moses, | 44The LORD spoke to Moses again: |
| 45“Take the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. And take the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me; I am the LORD. | 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 the LORD. |
| 46There are 273 more firstborn sons of Israel than there are Levites. To redeem these extra firstborn sons, | 46As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, |
| 47collect five pieces of silver for each of them (each piece weighing the same as the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs). | 47collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel--twenty gerahs to the shekel. |
| 48Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the extra firstborn sons.” | 48Give the silver to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites." |
| 49So Moses collected the silver for redeeming the firstborn sons of Israel who exceeded the number of Levites. | 49So Moses collected the redemption amount from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. |
| 50He collected 1,365 pieces of silver on behalf of these firstborn sons of Israel (each piece weighing the same as the sanctuary shekel). | 50He collected the silver from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. |
| 51And Moses gave the silver for the redemption to Aaron and his sons, just as the LORD had commanded. | 51He gave the redemption silver to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the LORD, just as the LORD commanded Moses. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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