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Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses on the day when Yehowah spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
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And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar;
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these are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he installed to minister as priests.
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But Nadab and Abihu died before Yehowah when they offered unholy fire before Yehowah in the desert of Sinai; and they had no sons; and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron.
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And Yehowah spoke to Moses, and said,
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Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, so that they may minister to him.
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And they shall perform their duties under him and the duties on behalf of the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, doing the service of the tabernacle;
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and they shall take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and perform the duties on behalf of the sons of Israel, doing the service of the tabernacle.
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And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given to him completely from among the sons of Israel.
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And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall perform their priestly office; but if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.
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And Yehowah spoke to Moses, and said,
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See how I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel, instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the sons of Israel; so the Levites shall be mine.
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For all the firstborn are mine; on the day when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified all the firstborn in Israel for myself, both man and beast. They shall be mine; I am Yehowah.
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And Yehowah spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, and said,
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Number the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses, according to their families; you shall number every male of a month old and over.
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So Moses numbered them according to the command of Yehowah, as he was commanded.
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And these were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
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And these are the names of the sons of Gershon according to their families: Libni and Shimei.
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And the sons of Kohath according to their families: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
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And the sons of Merari according to their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers' houses.
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From Gershon were the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites.
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Their number according to the number of all the males of a month old and over, was seven thousand five hundred.
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The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle to the west,
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the prince of the house of the father of the Gershonites being Eliasaph the son of Lael.
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And the responsibility of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was to be the tabernacle and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,
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and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords, for all the work there.
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And from Kohath were the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites.
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According to the number of all the males of a month old and over, there were eight thousand six hundred, performing the duties of the sanctuary.
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The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,
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the prince of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites being Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
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And their responsibility was to be the ark, the table, the lampstand, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen, and all the work there.
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And the chief of the princes of the Levites, Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, was to have oversight of those performing the duties of the sanctuary.
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From Merari were the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these are the families of Merari.
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Their number according to the number of all the males of a month old and over was six thousand two hundred,
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the prince of the house of the father of the families of Merari being Zuriel the son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
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And the special responsibility of the sons of Merari was to be the supports of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, and all its parts, and all the work there;
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also the pillars of the surrounding court, with their bases, pegs, and cords.
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And those who were to camp before the tabernacle to the east, before the tent of meeting towards the sunrise, were Moses with Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the sake of the sons of Israel; and if any outsider should come near, he was to be put to death.
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The total number of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the command of Yehowah, by their families, all the males of a month old and over, was twenty-two thousand.
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And Yehowah said to Moses, Number all the firstborn males of the sons of Israel of a month old and over, and count their number by their names.
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And take the Levites for me-I am Yehowah-instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel; and take the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.
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And as Yehowah commanded him, Moses numbered all the firstborn among the sons of Israel.
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And all the firstborn males according to the number of the names, of a month old and over of those who were numbered, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.
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Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine; I am Yehowah.
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And for the redemption of the two hundred and seventy-three firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess of the Levites,
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receive five shekels for each one; according to the shekel of the sanctuary you shall receive them, the shekel being twenty gerahs.
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And give the silver to Aaron and his sons for the redemption of the excess number of them.
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So Moses took the silver for the redemption from the excess number of those who were redeemed by the Levites;
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from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the silver: one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
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And Moses gave the silver for the redemption to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of Yehowah, as Yehowah commanded Moses.
