Numbers 3:5-17
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 3
5Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6Bring the tribe of Levi forward and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7They shall perform the duties for him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8They 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. 9So you shall assign the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are exclusively assigned to him from the sons of Israel. 10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that they may keep their priesthood, but the layman who comes near shall be put to death.'
11Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the firstborn of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine.
13For all 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.'
14Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15Count the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall count.'
16So Moses counted them according to the word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded.
17These, then, are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
King James Version
Chapter 3
5And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 6Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. 7And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle. 8And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. 9And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. 10And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 12And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; 13Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.
14And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them.
16And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.
17And these were the sons of Levi by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 3
5The Lord spoke to Moses: 6"Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. 7They are to perform duties for him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 8They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 9Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites. 10You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death."
11The Lord spoke to Moses:
12"See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to me,
13because every firstborn belongs to me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to myself, both man and animal. They are mine; I am the Lord."
New Living Translation
Chapter 3
5Then the Lord said to Moses, 6Call forward the tribe of Levi, and present them to Aaron the priest to serve as his assistants. 7They will serve Aaron and the whole community, performing their sacred duties in and around the Tabernacle. 8They will also maintain all the furnishings of the sacred tent, serving in the Tabernacle on behalf of all the Israelites. 9Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They have been given from among all the people of Israel to serve as their assistants. 10Appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the sanctuary must be put to death.'
11And the Lord said to Moses,
12Look, I have chosen the Levites from among the Israelites to serve as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me,
13for all the firstborn males are mine. On the day I struck down all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both of people and of animals. They are mine; I am the Lord.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 3
5And the 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 guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”
11And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
12“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. 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 consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.”
14And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15“List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.”
16So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.
17And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.
New International Version
Chapter 3
5The LORD said to Moses, 6Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the tent of meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle. 8They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle. 9Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him. 10Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary is to be put to death.'
11The LORD also said to Moses,
12I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine,
13for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They are to be mine. I am the LORD.'
New King James Version
Chapter 3
5And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. 8Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. 9And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. 10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”
11Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
12“Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine,
13because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”
