Numbers 3:5-37
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
6 “(A)Bring the tribe of Levi near and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him.
7 They shall perform the duties for (a)him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, to do the (B)service of the tabernacle.
8 They shall also keep all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
9 You shall thus (C)give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the sons of Israel.
10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that (D)they may keep their priesthood, but (E)the (b)layman who comes near shall be put to death.”
11 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12 “Now, behold, I (F)have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every (G)firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine.
13 For (H)all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses (I)in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15 “(c)(J)Number the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number.”
16 So Moses numbered them according to the (d)word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded.
17 (K)These then are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.
18 These are the names of the (L)sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei;
19 and the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel;
20 and the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.
21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites.
22 Their numbered men, in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, even their numbered men were 7,500.
23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the (e)tabernacle westward,
24 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites was Eliasaph the son of Lael.
Duties of the Priests
25 Now (M)the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle and (N)the tent, its covering, and (O)the screen for the doorway of the tent of meeting,
26 and (P)the hangings of the court, and (Q)the screen for the doorway of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords, according to all the service (f)concerning them.
27 Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites and the family of the Izharites and the family of the Hebronites and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites.
28 In the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, performing the duties of the sanctuary.
29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the southward side of the tabernacle,
30 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families was (g)Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31 Now (R)their duties involved (S)the ark, (T)the table, (U)the lampstand, (V)the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the screen, and all the service (h)concerning them;
32 and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the chief of the leaders of Levi, and had the oversight of those who perform the duties of the sanctuary.
33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari.
34 Their numbered men in the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, were 6,200.
35 The leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to (W)camp on the northward side of the tabernacle.
36 Now the appointed duties of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its equipment, and the service concerning them,
37 and the pillars around the court with their sockets and their pegs and their cords.
Footnotes:
a.
Numbers 3:7: ['Lit ', him and the duties of the whole congregation]
b.
Numbers 3:10: ['Lit ', stranger]
c.
Numbers 3:15: ['Lit ', muster, ', and so throughout the ch']
d.
Numbers 3:16: ['Lit ', mouth]
e.
Numbers 3:23: ['Lit ', dwelling place, ', and so throughout the ch']
f.
Numbers 3:26: ['Lit ', of it]
g.
Numbers 3:30: ['In Ex 6:22, ', Elzaphan]
h.
Numbers 3:31: ['Lit ', of it]