Numbers 3
Open in the reader1This is the account of Aaron and Drawn-Out at the time He-Who-Is spoke with Drawn-Out on Mount Sinai.
2These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Generous the firstborn, then He-Is-My-Father, My-God-Is-Help, and Coast-of-Palms.
3These were Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests.
4Generous and He-Is-My-Father, however, died in the presence of He-Who-Is when they offered unauthorized fire before He-Who-Is in the Wilderness of Sinai. And since they had no sons, only My-God-Is-Help and Coast-of-Palms served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5Then He-Who-Is said to Drawn-Out,
6“Bring the tribe of Joined and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.
7They are to perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, attending to the service of the Dwelling.
8They shall take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting and fulfill obligations for the children of Strives-with-God by attending to the service of the Dwelling.
9Assign the Joined-Ones to Aaron and his sons; they have been given exclusively to him from among the children of Strives-with-God.
10So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”
11Again He-Who-Is spoke to Drawn-Out, saying,
12“Behold, I have taken the Joined-Ones from among the children of Strives-with-God in place of every firstborn child of Strives-with-God from the womb. The Joined-Ones belong to Me,
13for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Two-Straits, I consecrated to Myself all the firstborn in Strives-with-God, both man and beast. They are Mine; I am He-Who-Is.”
14Then He-Who-Is spoke to Drawn-Out in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15“Number the children of Joined by their families and clans. You are to count every male a month old or more.”
16So Drawn-Out numbered them according to the word of He-Who-Is, as he had been commanded.
17These were the sons of Joined by name: Sojourner-There, Assembly, and Bitter.
18These were the names of the sons of Sojourner-There by their clans: White and My-Hearing.
19The sons of Assembly by their clans were Kindred-Is-Exalted, Shining-Oil, Association, and My-Strength-Is-God.
20And the sons of Bitter by their clans were Sickly and Sensitive. These were the clans of the Joined-Ones, according to their families.
21From Sojourner-There came the Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan; these were the child of Sojourner-There clans.
22The number of all the males a month old or more was 7,500.
23The Sojourners-There clans were to camp on the west, behind the Dwelling,
24and the leader of the families of the Sojourners-There was My-God-Has-Added son of Belonging-to-God.
25The duties of the children of Sojourner-There at the Tent of Meeting were the Dwelling and tent, its covering, the curtain for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,
26the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the Dwelling and altar, and the cords—all the service for these items.
27From Assembly came the clans of the Kindred-Is-Exalted-Folks, the Bright-Oil-clan, the Associationites, and the My-Strength-Is-God-Folks; these were the clans of the Allied-Ones.
28The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. They were responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.
29The clans of the children of Assembly were to camp on the south side of the Dwelling,
30and the leader of the families of the Allied-Ones was My-God-Has-Treasured son of My-Strength-Is-God.
31Their duties were the Chest, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used with them, and the curtain—all the service for these items.
32The chief of the leaders of the Joined-Ones was My-God-Is-Help son of Aaron the priest; he oversaw those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary.
33From Bitter came the clans of the Mahlites and Mushites; these were the Merarite clans.
34The number of all the males a month old or more was 6,200.
35The leader of the families of the children of Bitter was God-Is-My-Rock son of My-Father-Is-Might; they were to camp on the north side of the Dwelling.
36The duties assigned to the sons of Bitter were the Dwelling’s frames, crossbars, posts, bases, and all its equipment—all the service for these items,
37as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.
38Drawn-Out, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to camp to the east of the Dwelling, toward the sunrise, before the Tent of Meeting. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Strives-with-Godites; but any outsider who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
39The total number of Joined-Ones that Drawn-Out and Aaron counted by their clans at He-Who-Is’s command, including all the males a month old or more, was 22,000.
40Then He-Who-Is said to Drawn-Out, “Number every firstborn male of the children of Strives-with-God a month old or more, and list their names.
41You are to take the Joined-Ones for Me—I am He-Who-Is—in place of all the firstborn of Strives-with-God, and the livestock of the Joined-Ones in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the children of Strives-with-God.”
42So Drawn-Out numbered all the firstborn of the children of Strives-with-God, as He-Who-Is had commanded him.
43The total number of the firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.
44Again He-Who-Is spoke to Drawn-Out, saying,
45“Take the Joined-Ones in place of all the firstborn of Strives-with-God, and the livestock of the Joined-Ones in place of their livestock. The Joined-Ones belong to Me; I am He-Who-Is.
46To redeem the 273 firstborn children of Strives-with-God who outnumber the Joined-Ones,
47you are to collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs.
48Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the excess among the Israelites.”
49So Drawn-Out collected the redemption money from those in excess of the number redeemed by the Joined-Ones.
50He collected the money from the firstborn of the children of Strives-with-God: 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.
51And Drawn-Out gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the word of He-Who-Is, just as He-Who-Is had commanded him.