Num 3:5-37 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying ,

Numbers 3:5-37

5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “ ^aBring the tribe of Levi forward and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 They shall perform the duties for ^{▼▼Lit him and the duties of the whole congregation}him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, to do the ^cservice of the tabernacle. 8 They shall also take care of 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 So you shall ^dassign the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are exclusively assigned to him from the sons of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that ^ethey may ^{▼▼Or perform}keep their priesthood, but ^gthe ^{▼▼Lit stranger}layman who comes near shall be put to death.”

11 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Now, behold, I ⁱhave taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every ^jfirstborn, the firstborn of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. 13 For ^kall the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from the human firstborn to animals. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses ^lin the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “ ^{▼▼Lit muster, and so throughout the ch
,} ⁿCount the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall count.” 16 So Moses counted them according to the ^{▼▼Lit mouth}word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded. 17 ^pThese, then, are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the ^qsons 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 counting of every male from a month old and upward, their numbered men were 7,500. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the ^{▼▼Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch}tabernacle westward, 24 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites: Eliasaph the son of Lael.

Duties of the Levites

25 Now ^sthe duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle and ^tthe tent, its covering, and ^uthe curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 and ^vthe curtains of the courtyard, ^wthe curtain for the entrance of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its ropes, according to all the service ^{▼▼Lit of it}concerning them.

27 Of Kohath was 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 In the counting 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 south side of the tabernacle, 30 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families: ^{▼▼In Ex 6:22, Elzaphan}Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31 Now ^ztheir duties included ^aathe ark, ^abthe table, ^acthe lampstand, ^adthe altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, the ^{▼▼I.e., the veil between the Holy Place and Most Holy Place}curtain, and all the service ^{▼▼Lit of it}concerning them; 32 and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the head of the leaders of Levi, and he had the supervision of those who performed 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 counting of every male from a month old and upward: 6,200. 35 And the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to ^agcamp on the northward side of the tabernacle. 36 Now the appointment of duties of the sons of Merari included the framework of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, all its equipment, and all the service concerning them, 37 and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases, their pegs, and their ropes.