# Numbers 3 (New King James Version) The Sons of Aaron ##### Chapter 3 ###### 1 Now these _are_ the records of Aaron and Moses when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ###### 2 And these _are_ the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ###### 3 These _are_ the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he consecrated to minister as priests. ###### 4 Nadab 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.The Levites Serve in the Tabernacle ###### 5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ###### 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. ###### 7 And 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. ###### 8 Also 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. ###### 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they _are_ given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. ###### 10 So 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." ###### 11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ###### 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, ###### 13 because 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."Census of the Levites Commanded ###### 14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying: ###### 15 "Number the children of Levi by their fathers' houses, by their families; you shall number every male from a month old and above." ###### 16 So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. ###### 17 These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ###### 18 And these _are_ the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei. ###### 19 And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ###### 20 And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These _are_ the families of the Levites by their fathers' houses. ###### 21 From Gershon _came_ the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimites; these _were_ the families of the Gershonites. ###### 22 Those 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. ###### 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle westward. ###### 24 And the leader of the father's house of the Gershonites _was_ Eliasaph the son of Lael. ###### 25 The 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, ###### 26 the 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. ###### 27 From 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. ###### 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and above, _there were_ eight thousand six hundred keeping charge of the sanctuary. ###### 29 The families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. ###### 30 And the leader of the fathers' house of the families of the Kohathites _was_ Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ###### 31 Their 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. ###### 32 And 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. ###### 33 From Merari _came_ the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these _were_ the families of Merari. ###### 34 And those who were numbered, according to the number of all the males from a month old and above, _were_ six thousand two hundred. ###### 35 The 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. ###### 36 And 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, ###### 37 and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords. ###### 38 Moreover 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. ###### 39 All 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.Levites Dedicated Instead of the Firstborn ###### 40 Then 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. ###### 41 And 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." ###### 42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn among the children of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. ###### 43 And 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. ###### 44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ###### 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. ###### 46 And 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, ###### 47 you 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. ###### 48 And you shall give the money, with which the excess number of them is redeemed, to Aaron and his sons." ###### 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed by the Levites. ###### 50 From 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. ###### 51 And Moses gave their redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.