Now a man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman.

Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses, and He said, “Isn’t Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, he is on his way now to meet you. He will rejoice when he sees you.

The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi.
These are the clans of the Levites
according to their genealogy.

Aaron’s son Eleazar married
one of the daughters of Putiel
and she bore him Phinehas.
These are the heads of the Levite families by their clans.

And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.

The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about 3,000 men fell dead that day among the people.

This is the inventory for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, that was recorded at Moses’ command. It was the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

“Concerning the Levitical cities, the Levites always have the right to redeem houses in the cities they possess.

Whatever property one of the Levites can redeem—a house sold in a city they possess—must be released at the Jubilee, because the houses in the Levitical cities are their possession among the Israelites.

But the Levites were not registered with them by their ancestral tribe.

Appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They are to transport the tabernacle and all its articles, take care of it, and camp around it.

Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever it is to stop at a campsite, the Levites are to set it up. Any unauthorized person who comes near it must be put to death.

The Levites are to camp around the tabernacle of the testimony and watch over it, so that no wrath will fall on the Israelite community.”

The tent of meeting is to move out with the Levites’ camp, which is in the middle of the camps. They are to move out just as they camp, each in his place, with their banners.

But the Levites were not registered among the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites.

“See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to Me,

“Register the Levites by their ancestral houses and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.”

Merari’s sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral houses.

The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.

The 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.

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.”

“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.

As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites,

So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites.

“Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral houses,

“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites.

Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral houses,

“Accept these from them to be used in the work of the tent of meeting, and give this offering to the Levites, to each division according to their service.”

So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites.

“Take the Levites from among the Israelites and ceremonially cleanse them.

Bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire Israelite community.

Then present the Levites before the Lord, and have the Israelites lay their hands on them.

Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a presentation offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the Lord’s work.

Next the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls. Sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.

“You are to have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you are to present them before the Lord as a presentation offering.

In this way you are to separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites so that the Levites will belong to Me.

After that the Levites may come to serve at the tent of meeting, once you have ceremonially cleansed them and presented them as a presentation offering.

But I have taken the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites.

From the Israelites, I have given the Levites exclusively to Aaron and his sons to perform the work for the Israelites at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on their behalf, so that no plague will come against the Israelites when they approach the sanctuary.”

Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community did this to the Levites. The Israelites did everything to them the Lord commanded Moses regarding the Levites.

The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented them before the Lord as a presentation offering. Aaron also made atonement for them to ceremonially cleanse them.

After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. So they did to them as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites.

“In regard to the Levites: From 25 years old or more, a man enters the service in the work at the tent of meeting.

He may assist his brothers to fulfill responsibilities at the tent of meeting, but he must not do the work. This is how you are to deal with the Levites regarding their duties.”

place fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord. Then the man the Lord chooses will be the one who is set apart. It is you Levites who have gone too far!”

Moses also told Korah, “Now listen, Levites!

He has brought you near, and all your fellow Levites who are with you, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.

Look, I have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift for you, assigned by the Lord to work at the tent of meeting.

“Look, I have given the Levites every tenth in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the work of the tent of meeting.

The Levites will do the work of the tent of meeting, and they will bear the consequences of their sin. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations.

“Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the Lord—a tenth of the tenth.

“Tell them further: Once you have presented the best part of the tenth, and it is credited to you Levites as the produce of the threshing floor or the winepress,

These were the Levites registered by their clans:
the Gershonite clan from Gershon;
the Kohathite clan from Kohath;
the Merarite clan from Merari.

These were the Levite family groups:
the Libnite clan,
the Hebronite clan,
the Mahlite clan,
the Mushite clan,
and the Korahite clan.

Kohath was the ancestor of Amram.

From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every 50 from the people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats, all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle.”

Moses took one out of every 50, selected from the people and the livestock of the Israelites’ half. He gave them to the Levites who perform the duties of the Lord’s tabernacle, as the Lord had commanded him.

“Command the Israelites to give cities out of their hereditary property for the Levites to live in and pastureland around the cities.

The pasturelands of the cities you are to give the Levites will extend from the city wall 500 yards on every side.

“The cities you give the Levites will include six cities of refuge, which you must provide so that the one who kills someone may flee there; in addition to these, give 42 other cities.

The total number of cities you give the Levites will be 48, along with their pasturelands.

Of the cities that you give from the Israelites’ territory, you should take more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one. Each tribe is to give some of its cities to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance it receives.”

You will rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

You must eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God chooses—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your gates. Rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you do,

and be careful not to neglect the Levite, as long as you live in your land.

Do not neglect the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come, eat, and be satisfied. And the Lord your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

Rejoice before Yahweh your God in the place where He chooses to have His name dwell—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your gates, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow among you.

Rejoice during your festival—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates.

When a Levite leaves one of your towns where he lives in Israel and wants to go to the place the Lord chooses,

he may serve in the name of Yahweh his God like all his fellow Levites who minister there in the presence of the Lord.

You, the Levite, and the foreign resident among you will rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given you and your household.

“When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tenth, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

Then you will say in the presence of the Lord your God:

I have taken the consecrated portion out of my house; I have also given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commands You gave me. I have not violated or forgotten Your commands.

The Levites will proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite:

he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant,

because Moses had given the inheritance to the two and a half tribes beyond the Jordan. But he gave no inheritance among them to the Levites.

The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. No portion of the land was given to the Levites except cities to live in, along with pasturelands for their cattle and livestock.

But the Levites among you do not get a portion, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the Lord. Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have taken their inheritance beyond the Jordan to the east, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave them.”

The heads of the Levite families approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes.

So the Israelites, by the Lord’s command, gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance.

The lot came out for the Kohathite clans: The Levites who were the descendants of Aaron the priest received 13 cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

The Israelites gave these cities with their pasturelands around them to the Levites by lot, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because they received the first lot.

The allotted cities to the remaining clans of Kohath’s descendants, who were Levites, came from the tribe of Ephraim.

From half the tribe of Manasseh, they gave to the descendants of Gershon, who were one of the Levite clans:

Golan, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in Bashan, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands—two cities.

From the tribe of Zebulun, they gave to the clans of the descendants of Merari, who were the remaining Levites:

Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands,

All 12 cities were allotted to the clans of Merari’s descendants, the remaining Levite clans.

Within the Israelite possession there were 48 cities in all with their pasturelands for the Levites.

There was a young man, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who resided within the clan of Judah.

“Where do you come from?” Micah asked him.

He answered him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I’m going to settle wherever I can find a place.”

Micah replied, “Stay with me and be my father and priest, and I will give you four ounces of silver a year, along with your clothing and provisions.” So the Levite went in

Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house.

Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

While they were near Micah’s home, they recognized the speech of the young Levite. So they went over to him and asked, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is keeping you here?”

So they detoured there and went to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him.

In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite living in a remote part of the hill country of Ephraim acquired a woman from Bethlehem in Judah as his concubine.

They stopped to go in and spend the night in Gibeah. The Levite went in and sat down in the city square, but no one took them into their home to spend the night.

The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I went to Gibeah in Benjamin with my concubine to spend the night.

The Levites removed the ark of the Lord, along with the box containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord.