The Sons of Aaron

(Leviticus 10:1-7)

1And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that Jehovah spoke with Moses on mount Sinai. 2And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, who were consecrated to exercise the priesthood. 4And Nadab and Abihu died before Jehovah when they offered strange fire before Jehovah in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons; and Eleazar and Ithamar exercised the priesthood in the presence of Aaron their father.

Duties of the Levites

5And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 6Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him; 7and they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole assembly, before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8And they shall keep all the utensils of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given to him out of the children of Israel. 10And Aaron and his sons shalt thou appoint that they may attend to their priest's office; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death.

11And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 12And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that breaketh open the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine; 13for every firstborn is mine. On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be: I am Jehovah.

Registration of the Levites

14And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15Number the sons of Levi according to their fathers' houses, after their families; every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. 16And Moses numbered them, according to the commandment of Jehovah, -- as he had been commanded. 17And these are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. 18And these are the names of the sons of Gershon according to their families: Libni and Shimei. 19And the sons of Kohath according to their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. 20And the sons of Merari according to their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers' houses.

The Gershonites

(Numbers 4:21-28; Numbers 4:38-41; 1 Chronicles 23:7-11)

21Of Gershon, the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites. 22Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, those that were numbered of them were seven thousand five hundred. 23The families of the Gershonites encamped behind the tabernacle westward. 24And the prince of the father's house of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.

25And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was: the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the curtain of the entrance to the tent of meeting. 26And the hangings of the court, and the curtain of the entrance to the court, which surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the cords thereof for all its service.

The Kohathites

(Numbers 4:1-20; Numbers 4:34-37; 1 Chronicles 23:12-20)

27And of Kohath, the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites. 28According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, who kept the charge of the sanctuary. 29The families of the sons of Kohath encamped on the side of the tabernacle southward. 30And the prince of the father's house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31And their charge was the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, and the curtain, and all that belongs to its service. 32And the prince of princes of the Levites was Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest: he had the oversight of them that kept the charge of the sanctuary.

The Merarites

(Numbers 4:29-33; Numbers 4:42-49; 1 Chronicles 23:21-23)

33Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari. 34And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred. 35And the prince of the father's house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They encamped on the side of the tabernacle northward. 36And the charge of the sons of Merari consisted in the oversight of the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its bases, and all its furniture, and all that belongs to its service, 37and the pillars of the court round about, and their bases, and their pegs, and their cords.

Moses and Aaron

38And those who encamped before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, were Moses, and Aaron and his sons, who kept the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh near shall be put to death. 39All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of Jehovah, according to their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

Firstborn Sons Redeemed

40And Jehovah said to Moses, Number all the first-born males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names. 41And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am Jehovah) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites, instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel. 42And Moses numbered, as Jehovah had commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel. 43And all the firstborn males, by the number of the names, from a month old and upward, according to their numbering, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

44And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 45Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am Jehovah. 46And for those that are to be ransomed, the two hundred and seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are in excess over the Levites, 47thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll, according to the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them, -- twenty gerahs the shekel; 48and thou shalt give the money unto Aaron and unto his sons for those in excess among them who are to be ransomed. 49And Moses took the ransom-money from them that were over and above those who were ransomed by the Levites; 50of the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, a thousand three hundred and sixty-five [shekels], according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 51And Moses gave the money of them that were ransomed to Aaron and to his sons, according to the commandment of Jehovah, -- as Jehovah had commanded Moses.