And she became pregnant again and bore a son and said, Now this time will my husband be a companion to me, for I have borne him three sons. Therefore he was named Levi [companion].

Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel]; their swords are weapons of violence. O my soul, come not into their secret council; unto their assembly let not my honor be united [for I knew nothing of their plot], because in their anger they slew men [an honored man, Shechem, and the Shechemites], and in their self-will they disabled oxen. read more. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their births: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and Levi lived 137 years. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimi, by their families. read more. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and Kohath lived 133 years. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations. Amram took Jochebed his father's sister as wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and Amram lived 137 years.

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the Levites [the priestly tribe] gathered together to him. And he said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Every man put his sword on his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. read more. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about 3000 men. And Moses said [to the Levites, By your obedience to God's command] you have consecrated yourselves today [as priests] to the Lord, each man [at the cost of being] against his own son and his own brother, that the Lord may restore and bestow His blessing upon you this day.

And of Levi he said: Your Thummim and Your Urim [by which the priest sought God's will for the nation] are for Your pious one [Aaron on behalf of the tribe], whom You tried and proved at Massah, with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah; [Aaron] who said of his father and mother, I do not regard them; nor did he acknowledge his brothers or openly recognize his own children. For the priests observed Your word and kept Your covenant [as to their limitations]. read more. [The priests] shall teach Jacob Your ordinances and Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You and whole burnt offerings upon Your altar. Bless, O Lord, [Levi's] substance, and accept the work of his hands; crush the loins of his adversaries, and of those who hate him, that they arise no more.

And she became pregnant again and bore a son and said, Now this time will my husband be a companion to me, for I have borne him three sons. Therefore he was named Levi [companion].

But on the third day [after the circumcision] when [all the men] were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without danger], and slew all the males. And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house [where she had been all this time] and departed. read more. [Then the rest of] Jacob's [eleven] sons came upon the slain and plundered the town, because there their sister had been defiled and disgraced. They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the town and in the field; All their wealth and all their little ones and their wives they took captive, making spoil even of all [they found] in the houses. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You have ruined me, making me infamous and embroiling me with the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites! And we are few in number, and they will gather together against me and attack me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my household. And they said, Should he [be permitted to] deal with our sister as with a harlot?

The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their births: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and Levi lived 137 years.

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's office; and He said to him, Be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me]. And he rose and followed Him.

And as He was passing by, He saw Levi (Matthew) son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, Follow Me! [Be joined to Me as a disciple, side with My party!] And he arose and joined Him as His disciple and sided with His party and accompanied Him.

The son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

The son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

And after this, Jesus went out and looked [attentively] at a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office; and He said to him, Join Me as a disciple and side with My party and accompany Me.

And Levi (Matthew) made a great banquet for Him in his own house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others who were reclining [at the table] with them.

And she became pregnant again and bore a son and said, Now this time will my husband be a companion to me, for I have borne him three sons. Therefore he was named Levi [companion].

They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the town and in the field;

Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel]; their swords are weapons of violence. O my soul, come not into their secret council; unto their assembly let not my honor be united [for I knew nothing of their plot], because in their anger they slew men [an honored man, Shechem, and the Shechemites], and in their self-will they disabled oxen. read more. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their births: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; and Levi lived 137 years.

All the congregation of the Israelites moved on from the Wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and encamped at Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore, the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, Why do you find fault with me? Why do you tempt the Lord and try His patience? read more. But the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst? So Moses cried to the Lord, What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said to Moses, Pass on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the rod with which you smote the river [Nile], and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at [Mount] Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah [proof] and Meribah [contention] because of the faultfinding of the Israelites and because they tempted and tried the patience of the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not?

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the Levites [the priestly tribe] gathered together to him. And he said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Every man put his sword on his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. read more. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about 3000 men. And Moses said [to the Levites, By your obedience to God's command] you have consecrated yourselves today [as priests] to the Lord, each man [at the cost of being] against his own son and his own brother, that the Lord may restore and bestow His blessing upon you this day.

And you are to teach the Israelites all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.

And the Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month. And the people dwelt in Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there. Now there was no water for the congregation, and they assembled together against Moses and Aaron. read more. And the people contended with Moses, and said, Would that we had died when our brethren died [in the plague] before the Lord! And why have you brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, we and our livestock? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us into this evil place? It is no place of grain or of figs or of vines or of pomegranates. And there is no water to drink. Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tent of Meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them. And the Lord said to Moses, Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to give forth its water, and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink. So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as He commanded him. And Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation before the rock and Moses said to them, Hear now, you rebels; must we bring you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand and with his rod he smote the rock twice. And the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe in (rely on, cling to) Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Israelites, you therefore shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. These are the waters of Meribah [strife], where the Israelites contended with the Lord and He showed Himself holy among them.

Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the Israelites, in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My jealousy.

And of Levi he said: Your Thummim and Your Urim [by which the priest sought God's will for the nation] are for Your pious one [Aaron on behalf of the tribe], whom You tried and proved at Massah, with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah; [Aaron] who said of his father and mother, I do not regard them; nor did he acknowledge his brothers or openly recognize his own children. For the priests observed Your word and kept Your covenant [as to their limitations]. read more. [The priests] shall teach Jacob Your ordinances and Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You and whole burnt offerings upon Your altar. Bless, O Lord, [Levi's] substance, and accept the work of his hands; crush the loins of his adversaries, and of those who hate him, that they arise no more.

Then the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the Israelite tribes. They said to them at Shiloh in Canaan, The Lord commanded through Moses that we should be given cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands (suburbs) for our cattle. read more. So the Israelites gave to the Levites out of their own inheritance, at the command of the Lord, these cities and their suburbs. The [first] lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. So those Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin thirteen cities. And the rest of the Kohathites received by lot from the families of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh ten cities. The Gershonites received by lot from the families of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan thirteen cities. The Merarites received according to their families from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun twelve cities. The Israelites gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasturelands (suburbs), as the Lord commanded through Moses. They gave from the tribes of Judah and Simeon the cities here mentioned by name, Which went to the families of the descendants of Aaron, of the Kohathite branch of the Levites, for the lot fell to them first. They gave them [the city of] Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with its pasturelands round about it. But the city's fields and villages they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his own. Thus to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the slayer, with its pasturelands (suburbs), and together with their suburbs, Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh; nine cities, each with its suburbs, out of those two tribes. Out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon; four cities, each with its suburbs. The cities of the sons of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen, with their suburbs. The rest of the Kohathites belonging to the Levitical families were allotted cities out of the tribe of Ephraim. To them were given, each with its pasturelands (suburbs), Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, as the city of refuge for the slayer, and Gezer, And Kibzaim, and Beth-horon; four cities, each with its pasturelands (suburbs). And out of the tribe of Dan, each with its pasturelands (suburbs), Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon; four cities, each with its pasturelands (suburbs). And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach, and [another] Gath-rimmon; two cities, each with its pasturelands (suburbs). All the cities for the families of the remaining Kohathites were ten, with their pasturelands (suburbs). And to the Gershonites of the families of the Levites they gave out of the other half-tribe of Manasseh the city of Golan in Bashan, as the city of refuge for the slayer, and Be-eshterah; two cities, each with its pasturelands. Out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En-gannim; four cities, each with its suburbs. Out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob; four cities, each with its pasturelands. And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee, city of refuge for the slayer, and Hammoth-dor, and Kartan; three cities, each with its suburbs. All the cities of the Gershonite families were thirteen, with their pasturelands (suburbs). And to the families of the Merarites, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun were given Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal; four cities, each with its pasturelands (suburbs). And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath; four cities, each with its pasturelands (suburbs). And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead, as the city of refuge for the slayer, and Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer; four cities in all, each with its pasturelands (suburbs). So all the cities allotted to the Merarite families, that is, the remainder of the Levite families, were twelve cities.

Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually [from terror, dismay, and feebleness].

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's office; and He said to him, Be My disciple [side with My party and follow Me]. And he rose and followed Him.

He who loves [and takes more pleasure in] father or mother more than [in] Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves [and takes more pleasure in] son or daughter more than [in] Me is not worthy of Me;

And anyone and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for My name's sake will receive many [even a hundred] times more and will inherit eternal life.

And as He was passing by, He saw Levi (Matthew) son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, Follow Me! [Be joined to Me as a disciple, side with My party!] And he arose and joined Him as His disciple and sided with His party and accompanied Him.

The son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

The son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

And after this, Jesus went out and looked [attentively] at a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office; and He said to him, Join Me as a disciple and side with My party and accompany Me.

And Levi (Matthew) made a great banquet for Him in his own house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others who were reclining [at the table] with them.

If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his [own] father and mother [ in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God] and [likewise] his wife and children and brothers and sisters -- "[yes] and even his own life also -- "he cannot be My disciple.

And she became pregnant again and bore a son and said, Now this time will my husband be a companion to me, for I have borne him three sons. Therefore he was named Levi [companion].

Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel]; their swords are weapons of violence. O my soul, come not into their secret council; unto their assembly let not my honor be united [for I knew nothing of their plot], because in their anger they slew men [an honored man, Shechem, and the Shechemites], and in their self-will they disabled oxen. read more. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

And your brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your [fore]father, bring with you, that they may be joined to you and minister to you; but only you and your sons with you shall come before the Tent of the Testimony [into the Holy Place where only priests may go and into the Most Holy Place which only the high priest dares enter].

And they shall be joined to you and attend to the duties of the Tent of Meeting -- "all the [menial] service of the Tent -- "and no stranger [no layman, anyone who is not a Levite] shall come near you [Aaron and your sons].

In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.

And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and was in the house of Micah.

This same John's garments were made of camel's hair, and he wore a leather girdle about his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

The son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

The son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

And she became pregnant again and bore a son and said, Now this time will my husband be a companion to me, for I have borne him three sons. Therefore he was named Levi [companion].

But on the third day [after the circumcision] when [all the men] were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without danger], and slew all the males. And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house [where she had been all this time] and departed. read more. [Then the rest of] Jacob's [eleven] sons came upon the slain and plundered the town, because there their sister had been defiled and disgraced. They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the town and in the field; All their wealth and all their little ones and their wives they took captive, making spoil even of all [they found] in the houses. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You have ruined me, making me infamous and embroiling me with the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites! And we are few in number, and they will gather together against me and attack me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my household. And they said, Should he [be permitted to] deal with our sister as with a harlot?

And of Levi he said: Your Thummim and Your Urim [by which the priest sought God's will for the nation] are for Your pious one [Aaron on behalf of the tribe], whom You tried and proved at Massah, with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah; [Aaron] who said of his father and mother, I do not regard them; nor did he acknowledge his brothers or openly recognize his own children. For the priests observed Your word and kept Your covenant [as to their limitations]. read more. [The priests] shall teach Jacob Your ordinances and Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You and whole burnt offerings upon Your altar. Bless, O Lord, [Levi's] substance, and accept the work of his hands; crush the loins of his adversaries, and of those who hate him, that they arise no more.

And you shall know, recognize, and understand that I have sent this [new] decree to you priests, to be My [new] covenant with Levi [the priestly tribe], says the Lord of hosts.

The law of truth was in [Levi's] mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness and turned many away from iniquity.

And as He was passing by, He saw Levi (Matthew) son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, Follow Me! [Be joined to Me as a disciple, side with My party!] And he arose and joined Him as His disciple and sided with His party and accompanied Him.

The son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

The son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, The son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon (Peter), Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul.

And after this, Jesus went out and looked [attentively] at a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office; and He said to him, Join Me as a disciple and side with My party and accompany Me.

And Levi (Matthew) made a great banquet for Him in his own house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others who were reclining [at the table] with them.

And she became pregnant again and bore a son and said, Now this time will my husband be a companion to me, for I have borne him three sons. Therefore he was named Levi [companion].

Joseph settled his father and brethren and gave them a possession in Egypt in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses (Goshen), as Pharaoh commanded.

Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel]; their swords are weapons of violence. O my soul, come not into their secret council; unto their assembly let not my honor be united [for I knew nothing of their plot], because in their anger they slew men [an honored man, Shechem, and the Shechemites], and in their self-will they disabled oxen. read more. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

And as He was passing by, He saw Levi (Matthew) son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, Follow Me! [Be joined to Me as a disciple, side with My party!] And he arose and joined Him as His disciple and sided with His party and accompanied Him.

The son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

The son of Jesus, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

And after this, Jesus went out and looked [attentively] at a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office; and He said to him, Join Me as a disciple and side with My party and accompany Me.

And Levi (Matthew) made a great banquet for Him in his own house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others who were reclining [at the table] with them.