Numbers 1:47

³³But the Levites were not counted among the children of Israel, as the LORD commanded Moses.

¹Now this is the history of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai. ²These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

³These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office. ⁴Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered strange fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the presence of Aaron their father.

⁵The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. ⁷They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁸They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the obligations of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁹You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel. ¹⁰You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood, but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”

¹¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²“Behold, ^[+] I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine, ¹³for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine. I am the LORD.”

¹⁴The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵“Count the children of Levi by their fathers’ houses, by their families. You shall count every male from a month old and upward.”

¹⁶Moses counted them according to the LORD’s word, as he was commanded.

¹⁷These were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹⁸These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei.

¹⁹The sons of Kohath by their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁰The sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.

²¹Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites.

²²Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, even those who were counted of them were seven thousand five hundred.

²³The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.

²⁴Eliasaph the son of Lael shall be the prince of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. ²⁵The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting, ²⁶the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and its cords for all of its service.

²⁷Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites. These are the families of the Kohathites. ²⁸According to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred keeping the requirements of the sanctuary.

²⁹The families of the sons of Kohath shall encamp on the south side of the tabernacle. ³⁰The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹Their duty shall be the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, the screen, and all its service. ³²Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, with the oversight of those who keep the requirements of the sanctuary.

³³Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites. These are the families of Merari. ³⁴Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, were six thousand two hundred.

^35[+] The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its service, ³⁷the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords.

³⁸Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, with Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. ³⁹All who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the commandment of the LORD, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

⁴⁰The LORD said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names. ⁴¹You shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the livestock of the children of Israel.”

⁴²Moses counted, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel. ⁴³All the firstborn males according to the number of names from a month old and upward, of those who were counted of them, were twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.

⁴⁴The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine. I am the LORD. ⁴⁶For the redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the children of Israel who exceed the number of the Levites, ⁴⁷you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; according to the shekel^[+] of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs^48[+] and you shall give the money, with which their remainder is redeemed, to Aaron and to his sons.”

⁴⁹Moses took the redemption money from those who exceeded the number of those who were redeemed by the Levites;

⁵⁷These are those who were counted of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. ⁵⁸These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, and the family of the Korahites. Kohath became the father of Amram. ⁵⁹The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. She bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. ⁶⁰To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁶¹Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the LORD. ⁶²Those who were counted of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not counted among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.

⁶But he didn’t count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab.

¹The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ²The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ³The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁴Eleazar became the father of Phinehas, Phinehas became the father of Abishua, ⁵Abishua became the father of Bukki. Bukki became the father of Uzzi. ⁶Uzzi became the father of Zerahiah. Zerahiah became the father of Meraioth. ⁷Meraioth became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. ⁸Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Ahimaaz. ⁹Ahimaaz became the father of Azariah. Azariah became the father of Johanan. ¹⁰Johanan became the father of Azariah, who executed the priest’s office in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem. ¹¹Azariah became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. ¹²Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Shallum. ¹³Shallum became the father of Hilkiah. Hilkiah became the father of Azariah. ¹⁴Azariah became the father of Seraiah. Seraiah became the father of Jehozadak. ¹⁵Jehozadak went into captivity when the LORD carried Judah and Jerusalem away by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁶The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁷These are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁸The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ¹⁹The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households. ²⁰Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, ²¹Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, and Jeatherai his son. ²²The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, ²³Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, ²⁴Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. ²⁵The sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth. ²⁶As for Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah: Zophai his son, Nahath his son, ²⁷Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, and Elkanah his son. ²⁸The sons of Samuel: the firstborn, Joel, and the second, Abijah. ²⁹The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, ³⁰Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.

³¹These are they whom David set over the service of song in the LORD’s house after the ark came to rest there. ³²They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting until Solomon had built the LORD’s house in Jerusalem. They performed the duties of their office according to their order. ³³These are those who served, and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, ³⁴the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, ³⁵the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, ³⁶the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, ³⁷the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, ³⁸the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. ³⁹His brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea, ⁴⁰the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchijah, ⁴¹the son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, ⁴²the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, ⁴³the son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi. ⁴⁴On the left hand their brothers the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, ⁴⁵the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, ⁴⁶the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer, ⁴⁷the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. ⁴⁸Their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of God’s house. ⁴⁹But Aaron and his sons offered on the altar of burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, for all the work of the most holy place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

⁵⁰These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, ⁵¹Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, ⁵²Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, ⁵³Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son. ⁵⁴Now these are their dwelling places according to their encampments in their borders: to the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites (for theirs was the first lot), ⁵⁵to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah, and its pasture lands around it; ⁵⁶but the fields of the city and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ⁵⁷To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge, Hebron, Libnah also with its pasture lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, ⁵⁸Hilen with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, ⁵⁹Ashan with its pasture lands, and Beth Shemesh with its pasture lands; ⁶⁰and out of the tribe of Benjamin, Geba with its pasture lands, Allemeth with its pasture lands, and Anathoth with its pasture lands. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.

⁶¹To the rest of the sons of Kohath were given by lot, out of the family of the tribe, out of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities. ⁶²To the sons of Gershom, according to their families, out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. ⁶³To the sons of Merari were given by lot, according to their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. ⁶⁴The children of Israel gave to the Levites the cities with their pasture lands. ⁶⁵They gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities which are mentioned by name.

⁶⁶Some of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their borders out of the tribe of Ephraim. ⁶⁷They gave to them the cities of refuge, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim with its pasture lands and Gezer with its pasture lands, ⁶⁸Jokmeam with its pasture lands, Beth Horon with its pasture lands, ⁶⁹Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath Rimmon with its pasture lands; ⁷⁰and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its pasture lands, and Bileam with its pasture lands, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath.

⁷¹To the sons of Gershom were given, out of the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its pasture lands, and Ashtaroth with its pasture lands; ⁷²and out of the tribe of Issachar, Kedesh with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, ⁷³Ramoth with its pasture lands, and Anem with its pasture lands; ⁷⁴and out of the tribe of Asher, Mashal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, ⁷⁵Hukok with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands; ⁷⁶and out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands, Hammon with its pasture lands, and Kiriathaim with its pasture lands.

⁷⁷To the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its pasture lands, and Tabor with its pasture lands; ⁷⁸and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasture lands, Jahzah with its pasture lands, ⁷⁹Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands; ⁸⁰and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands, ⁸¹Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands.

⁵⁰but appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; and they shall take care of it, and shall encamp around it.

³from twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go out to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall count them by their divisions.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to Aaron, and tell him, ‘When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lamp stand.’”

³Aaron did so. He lit its lamps to light the area in front of the lamp stand, as the LORD commanded Moses. ⁴This was the workmanship of the lamp stand, beaten work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was beaten work. He made the lamp stand according to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses.

⁵The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶“Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. ⁷You shall do this to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of cleansing on them, let them shave their whole bodies with a razor, let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves. ⁸Then let them take a young bull and its meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and another young bull you shall take for a sin offering. ⁹You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting. You shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel. ¹⁰You shall present the Levites before the LORD. The children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, ¹¹and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for a wave offering on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of the LORD.

¹²“The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites. ¹³You shall set the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to the LORD. ¹⁴Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.

¹⁵“After that, the Levites shall go in to do the service of the Tent of Meeting. You shall cleanse them, and offer them as a wave offering. ¹⁶For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to me. ¹⁷For all the firstborn among the children of Israel are mine, both man and animal. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified them for myself. ¹⁸I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel. ¹⁹I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the Tent of Meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near to the sanctuary.”

²⁰Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel did so to the Levites. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the children of Israel did to them. ²¹The Levites purified themselves from sin, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them for a wave offering before the LORD and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²²After that, the Levites went in to do their service in the Tent of Meeting before Aaron and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

²³The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴“This is what is assigned to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to wait on the service in the work of the Tent of Meeting; ²⁵and from the age of fifty years they shall retire from doing the work, and shall serve no more, ²⁶but shall assist their brothers in the Tent of Meeting, to perform the duty, and shall perform no service. This is how you shall have the Levites do their duties.”