Numbers 3:1-28 ▼

1 And these are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day in which the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sina.

2 And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the first-born; and Abiud, Eleazar and Ithamar.

3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests whom they consecrated to the priesthood.

4 And Nadab and Abiud died before the Lord, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the wilderness of Sina; and they had no children; and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priests' office with Aaron their father.

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

6 Take the tribe of Levi, and thou shalt set them before Aaron the priest, and they shall minister to him,

7 and shall keep his charges, and the charges of the children of Israel, before the tabernacle of witness, to do the works of the tabernacle.

8 And they shall keep all the furniture of the tabernacle of witness, and the charges of the children of Israel as to all the works of the tabernacle.

9 And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron, and to his sons the priests; they are given for a gift to me of the children of Israel.

10 And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons over the tabernacle of witness; and they shall keep their charge of priesthood, and all things belonging to the altar, and within the veil; and the stranger that touches them shall die.

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

12 Behold, I have taken the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, instead of every male that opens the womb from among the children of Israel: they shall be their ransom, and the Levites shall be mine.

13 For every first-born is mine; in the day in which I smote every first-born in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to myself every first-born in Israel: both of man and beast, they shall be mine: I am the Lord.

14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sina, saying,

15 Take the number of the sons of Levi, according to the houses of their families, according to their divisions; number ye them every male from a month old and upwards.

16 And Moses and Aaron numbered them by the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded them.

17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gedson, Caath, and Merari.

18 And these are the names of the sons of Gedson according to their families; Lobeni and Semei:

19 and the sons of Caath according to their families; Amram and Issaar, Chebron and Oziel:

20 and the sons of Merari according to their families, Mooli and Musi; these are the families of the Levites according to the houses of their families.

21 To Gedson belongs the family of Lobeni, and the family of Semei: these are the families of Gedson.

22 The numbering of them according to the number of every male from a month old and upwards, their numbering was seven thousand and five hundred.

23 And the sons of Gedson shall encamp westward behind the tabernacle.

24 And the ruler of the household of the family of Gedson was Elisaph the son of Dael.

25 And the charge of the sons of Gedson in the tabernacle of witness was the tent and the veil, and the covering of the door of the tabernacle of witness,

26 and the curtains of the court, and the veil of the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and the remainder of all its works.

27 To Caath belonged one division, that of Amram, and another division, that of Issaar, and another division, that of Chebron, and another division, that of Oziel: these are the divisions of Caath, according to number.

28 Every male from a month old and upward, eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charges of the holy things.