The Levites
1Here is the story of the family line of Aaron and Moses. It belongs to the time when the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai.
2Aaron’s oldest son was Nadab. Aaron’s other sons were Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 3Those were the names of Aaron’s sons. They were the anointed priests. They were given authority to serve the Lord as priests. 4But Nadab and Abihu made an offering to the Lord by using fire that wasn’t allowed. So they died in front of him. That happened in the Desert of Sinai. They didn’t have any sons. Only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests while their father Aaron was living.
5The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 6“Bring the men of the tribe of Levi to Aaron the priest. They will help him. 7They must work at the tent of meeting for Aaron and for the whole community. They must do what needs to be done at the holy tent. 8They must take care of everything connected with the tent of meeting. When they do, they are acting for all the Israelites. 9Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They are the men of Israel who must be given completely to him. 10Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests. Anyone else who approaches the sacred tent must be put to death.”
11The Lord also said to Moses, 12“I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites. I have taken them in place of the son born first to each woman in Israel. The Levites belong to me. 13That’s because every male born first to a mother is mine. In Egypt I struck down all the males born first. I did it when I set apart for myself every male born first to a mother in Israel. That is true for men and animals alike. They belong to me. I am the Lord.”
14The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai. He said, 15“Count the Levites by their family groups. Count every male a month old or more.” 16So Moses counted them. He did just as the word of the Lord had commanded him.
17The sons of Levi were
Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
18The major families from Gershon were
Libni and Shimei.
19The major families from Kohath were
Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20The major families from Merari were
Mahli and Mushi.
These were the major families of the Levites.
21The families of Libni and Shimei belonged to the family of Gershon.
22All the males a month old or more were counted. There were 7,500 of them.
23The families of Gershon had to camp on the west side. They had to camp behind the holy tent.
24The leader of the families of Gershon was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.
25Here are the duties of the families of Gershon at the tent of meeting. They were responsible for taking care of the holy tent and its coverings. They took care of the curtain at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 26They took care of the curtains of the courtyard. And they took care of the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. The courtyard was all around the holy tent and altar. The families of Gershon also took care of the ropes. In fact, they had to take care of everything connected with the use of all those things.
27The families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel belonged to the family of Kohath.
28All the males a month old or more were counted. There were 8,600 of them.
The families of Kohath were responsible for taking care of the sacred tent.
29They had to camp on the south side of the holy tent.
30The leader of the families of Kohath was Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.
31They were responsible for taking care of the ark of the covenant law. They took care of the table for the holy bread. They took care of the lampstand and the two altars. They took care of the things used for serving in the sacred tent. They also took care of the inner curtain. In fact, they had to take care of everything connected with the use of all those things.
32The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar. He was the son of Aaron the priest. Eleazar was appointed over those responsible for taking care of the sacred tent.
33The families of Mahli and Mushi belonged to the family of Merari.
34All the males a month old or more were counted. There were 6,200 of them.
35The leader of the families of Merari was Zuriel, the son of Abihail.
The families of Merari had to camp on the north side of the holy tent.
36They were responsible for taking care of the frames of the tent. They took care of its crossbars, posts and bases. They took care of all its supplies. In fact, they had to take care of everything connected with the use of all those things. 37They also took care of the posts of the courtyard around the holy tent. And they took care of the bases, tent stakes and ropes.
38Moses, Aaron and Aaron’s sons had to camp to the east of the holy tent. They had to camp toward the sunrise in front of the tent of meeting.
They were responsible for taking care of the sacred tent. They had to do it for the Israelites.
Anyone else who approached the tent would be put to death.
39The total number of the Levite males was 22,000. They were counted family by family. Every male a month old or more was counted. Moses and Aaron counted them, just as the Lord had commanded.
40The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the Israelite males born first in their families. Count all those a month old or more. Make a list of their names. 41Take the Levites for me in their place. And take the livestock of the Levites in place of all the male animals in Israel born first to their mothers. I am the Lord.”
42So Moses counted all the oldest sons in Israel. He did just as the Lord had commanded him. 43There were 22,273 of those sons a month old or more. They were listed by name.
44The Lord also said to Moses, 45“Take the Levites in place of all the males born first in Israel. Also take the livestock of the Levites in place of the livestock of Israel. The Levites belong to me. I am the Lord. 46But there are 273 more males born first in Israel than there are male Levites. 47Collect two ounces of silver for each of them. Weigh it out according to the standard weights used in the sacred tent. 48Give the silver to Aaron and his sons. It will buy the freedom of the additional sons in Israel.”
49So Moses collected the silver from the additional sons in Israel to buy their freedom. The Levites took the place of all the others. 50Moses collected 35 pounds of silver. It was weighed out according to the weights used in the sacred tent. Moses collected it from the oldest sons in Israel. 51He gave the silver to Aaron and his sons. He did just as the Lord had commanded him.
利未人的职分
1以下是耶和华在西奈山与摩西说话期间亚伦和摩西的后代。
2亚伦的长子是拿答，其他儿子还有亚比户、以利亚撒和以他玛。 3亚伦的儿子都是受膏的祭司，从摩西那里承受圣职做祭司。 4拿答和亚比户在西奈旷野用凡火向耶和华献祭，因而被击杀。他们没有后裔，因此只剩下以利亚撒和以他玛在父亲亚伦身边担任祭司。
5耶和华对摩西说： 6“你去叫利未支派来协助亚伦祭司。 7他们要为亚伦和全体会众在会幕司职，办理圣幕的事务， 8也要负责看守会幕里面的器具，为以色列人办理圣幕的事务。 9你要把利未人交给亚伦父子们，因为他们是从以色列人中选出来协助亚伦的。 10你要指派亚伦父子们尽祭司的职分，其他人若走近圣幕，必被处死。” 11耶和华又对摩西说： 12“我从以色列人中拣选利未人代替以色列人所有的长子。利未人要属于我， 13因为所有头生的都属于我。我杀死埃及人所有的长子和头生的牲畜那天，已把以色列人所有的长子和头生的牲畜都分别出来，使之圣洁，归给我，我是耶和华。”
14耶和华在西奈旷野对摩西说： 15“你要按利未人的宗族和家系统计他们的人口，登记所有年龄在一个月以上的男性。” 16于是，摩西照耶和华的吩咐统计利未人。 17利未的儿子是革顺、哥辖和米拉利。 18革顺的儿子依次是立尼和示每。 19哥辖的儿子依次是暗兰、以斯哈、希伯仑和乌薛。 20米拉利的儿子依次是抹利和姆示。他们按家系都属于利未人的宗族。
21革顺宗族有立尼和示每两个家族， 22其中年龄在一个月以上的男性共七千五百人。 23革顺宗族的人要在圣幕的后面，即西面安营， 24拉伊勒的儿子以利雅萨做首领。 25他们负责看守会幕，即圣幕、圣幕的罩棚、顶盖和门帘、 26围绕圣幕和祭坛的院子的帷幔、门帘、绳索及一切相关的物品。
27哥辖宗族有暗兰家族、以斯哈家族、希伯仑家族和乌薛家族， 28其中年龄在一个月以上的男性共有八千六百人，他们负责看守圣所。 29哥辖宗族的人要在圣幕南面安营， 30乌薛的儿子以利撒反做首领。 31他们负责照管约柜、桌子、灯台、两座坛、圣所里面的器具、幔子等一切物品。 32亚伦祭司的儿子以利亚撒是利未人的最高首领，负责监督在圣所工作的人。
33米拉利宗族有抹利和姆示两个家族， 34其中年龄在一个月以上的男性共六千二百人， 35亚比亥的儿子苏列做首领。他们要在圣幕的北面安营， 36负责照管圣幕的木板、横闩、柱子、带凹槽的底座和圣幕的一切器具， 37以及院子四周的柱子、带凹槽的底座、橛子和绳索。
38摩西、亚伦和亚伦的儿子们要在圣幕东面、朝日出的方向安营，为以色列人在圣所司职。凡擅自走近圣所的人，都要被处死。 39摩西和亚伦照耶和华的吩咐，按宗族统计利未人，年龄在一个月以上的男性共两万二千人。
利未人代替长子的地位
40耶和华对摩西说：“你要统计以色列人中年龄在一个月以上的长子，登记他们的姓名。 41我是耶和华，你要把利未人归给我，代替以色列人所有的长子，也要把利未人的牲畜献给我，代替以色列人所有头生的牲畜。” 42摩西就照耶和华的吩咐统计了以色列人的长子， 43年龄在一个月以上的共两万二千二百七十三人。 44耶和华又对摩西说： 45“你要用利未人代替以色列人所有的长子，用利未人的牲畜代替以色列人所有头生的牲畜。利未人是属于我的，我是耶和华。 46以色列人所有长子的人数比利未人总数多二百七十三人，这些多出来的人需要被赎回， 47每人折合五十五克银子，要以圣所的秤为准，即一舍客勒3:47 一舍客勒约合十一克。是二十季拉。 48要把赎银交给亚伦父子们。” 49摩西就收取了那二百七十三人的赎银， 50以圣所的秤计算，共十五公斤银子， 51照耶和华的吩咐，将赎银交给亚伦父子们。
