Numbers 3

¹These ben the generaciouns of Aaron and of Moises, in the dai in which the Lord spak to Moises, in the hil of Synay.

²And these ben the names of `the sones of Aaron; his first gendrid, Nadab; aftirward, Abyu, and Eleazar, and Ythamar; these ben the names of `Aarons sones,

³preestis, that weren anoyntid, and whos hondis weren fillid and halewid, that thei schulden `be set in preesthod.

⁴Nadab and Abyu, whanne thei offeriden alien fier in the `siyt of the Lord, in the deseert of Synay, weren deed without fre children; and Eleazar and Ythamar `weren set in preesthod bifor Aaron hir fadir.

⁵And the Lord spak to Moises,

⁶`and seide, `Presente thou the lynage of Leuy, and make to stonde in the siyt of Aaron, preest, that thei mynystre to hym;

⁷and wake, and that thei kepe what euer thing perteyneth to the religioun of multitude, bifor the tabernacle of witnessyng;

⁸and that thei kepe the vessels of the tabernacle, and serue in the seruyce therof.

⁹And thou schalt yyue bi fre yifte the Leuytis to Aaron and hise sones, to whiche thei ben youun of the sones of Israel.

¹⁰Sotheli thou schalt ordeyne Aaron and hise sones on the religioun of preesthod; a straungere , that neiyeth for to mynystre, and schal die.

¹¹And the Lord spak to Moyses, `and seide,

¹²Y haue take the Leuytis of the sones of Israel for ech firste gendrid thing that openeth the womb in the sones of Israel; and the Leuytis schulen be myne,

¹³for ech firste gendrid thing is myn; sithen Y smoot the firste gendrid in the lond of Egipt, Y halewide to me what euer thing is borun first in Israel; fro man `til to beest thei ben myne; Y am the Lord.

¹⁴And the Lord spak to Moises in the deseert

¹⁵of Synay, and seide, Noumbre thou the sones of Leuy bi `the housis of her fadris, and bi meynees, ech male fro o monethe and aboue.

¹⁶Moises noumbride, as the Lord comaundide.

¹⁷And the sones of Leuy weren foundun, bi her names, Gerson, and Caath, and Merary;

¹⁸the sones of Gerson weren Lebny, and Semey;

¹⁹the sones of Caath weren Amram, and Jessaar, Hebron, and Oziel;

²⁰and the sones of Merari weren Mooly, and Musi.

²¹Of Gerson weren twei meynees, of Lebny, and of Semei;

²²of whiche the puple of male kynde was noumbrid, fro o monethe and aboue, seuene thousynde and fyue hundrid.

²³These schulen sette tentis aftir the tabernacle at the west,

²⁴vndur the prince Eliasaph, the sone of Jahel.

²⁵And thei schulen haue kepyngis in the tabernacle of boond of pees, the tabernacle it silf, and the hilyng therof, the tente which is drawun bifor the yatis of the hilyng of the witnessyng of boond of pees;

²⁶and the curteyns of the greet street, also the tente which is hangid in the entryng of the greet street of the tabernacle, and what euer thing perteyneth to the custom of the auter, the cordis of the tabernacle, and al the purtenaunce therof .

²⁷The kynrede of Caath schal haue the puplis of Amram, and of Jessaar, and of Ebron, and of Oziel;

²⁸these ben the meynees of Caathitis, noumbrid bi her names, alle of male kynde, fro o monethe and aboue, eiyte thousynde and sixe hundrid.

²⁹Thei schulen haue kepyngis of the seyntuarie, and schulen sette tentis at the south coost;

³⁰and `the prince of hem schal be Elisaphan, the sone of Oziel.

³¹And thei schulen kepe the arke, and the boord, and the candilstike, the auters, and vesselis of the seyntuarie in whiche it is mynystrid, and the veil, and al sich purtenaunce.

³²Sotheli the prince of princis of Leuytis schal be Eleazar, the sone of Aaron, preest; and he schal be on the keperis of the kepyng of the seyntuarie.

³³And sotheli of Merary schulen be the puplis of Mooli, and of Musi,

³⁴noumbrid bi her names, alle of male kynde fro o monethe and aboue, sixe thousynde and two hundrid;

³⁵`the prince of hem schal be Suriel, the sone of Abiahiel; thei schulen sette tentis in the north coost.

³⁶And vndur `the kepyng of hem schulen be the tablis of the tabernacle, and the barris, and the pileris, and `the foundementis of tho, and alle thingis that perteynen to sich ournyng,

³⁷and the pileris of the greet street bi cumpas, with her foundementis, and the stakis with coordis.

³⁸Forsothe Moises and Aaron with hise sones schulen sette tentis bifor the tabernacle of boond of pees, that is, at the eest coost, and schulen haue the keping of the seyntuarie, in the myddis of the sones of Israel; what euer alien neiyeth , he schal die.

³⁹Alle the Leuytis, whiche Moises and Aaron noumbriden, bi comaundement of the Lord, bi her meynees, in male kynde, fro o monethe and aboue, were two and twenti thousynd.

⁴⁰And the Lord seide to Moises, Noumbre thou the firste gendrid children of male kynde of the sones of Israel, fro o monethe and aboue; and thou schalt haue the summe of hem; and

⁴¹thou schalt take Leuytis to me for alle the firste gendrid of the sones of Israel; Y am the Lord; and thou schalt take `the beestis of hem for alle the firste gendrid of the sones of Israel.

⁴²And as the Lord comaundide, Moises noumbride the firste gendrid children of the sones of Israel; and the males weren bi her names,

⁴³fro o monethe and aboue, two and twenti thousynde two hundrid and seuenti and thre.

⁴⁴And the Lord spak to Moises, and seide,

⁴⁵Take thou Leuytis for the firste gendrid children of the sones of Israel, and the beestis of Leuytis for the beestis of hem, and the Leuytis schulen be myne; Y am the Lord.

⁴⁶Forsothe in the prijs of two hundrid seuenti and thre, that passen the noumbre of `Leuytis, of the firste gendrid children of the sones of Israel,

⁴⁷thou schalt take fyue ciclis bi ech heed, at the mesure of seyntuarie; a sicle hath xx. halpens;

⁴⁸and thou schalt yyue the money to Aaron and to hise sones, the prijs of hem that ben aboue.

⁴⁹Therfor Moises took the money of hem that weren aboue, and whiche thei hadden ayenbouyt of the Leuytis, for the firste gendrid of the sones of Israel,

⁵⁰a thousand thre hundrid sixti and fyue of siclis, bi the weiyte of seyntuarie;

⁵¹and he yaf that money to Aaron and to hise sones, bi the word which the Lord comaundide to hym.

Numbers 3

¹These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spake with Moses in mount Sinai.

²And these 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 which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.

⁴And Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the sight of Aaron their father.

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.

¹⁸And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei.

¹⁹And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁰And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to the house of their fathers.

²¹Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites.

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

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

²⁴And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael.

²⁵And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

²⁶And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.

²⁷And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.

²⁸In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary.

²⁹The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward.

³⁰And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.

³¹And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.

³²And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

³³Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.

³⁴And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.

³⁵And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward.

³⁶And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto,

³⁷And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.

³⁸But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

³⁹All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.

⁴⁰And the Lord said unto Moses, Number all the firstborn of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.

⁴¹And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the Lord) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.

⁴²And Moses numbered, as the Lord commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.

⁴³And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.

⁴⁴And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

⁴⁵Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord.

⁴⁶And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and threescore and thirteen of the firstborn of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites;

⁴⁷Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:)

⁴⁸And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.

⁴⁹And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites:

⁵⁰Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:

⁵¹And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.