Duties of the Levites
5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
6
1"Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him.
7
They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting,
2as they minister at the tabernacle.
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They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle.
9
And
3you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are
4wholly given to him from among the people of Israel.
10
And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and
5they shall guard their priesthood. But if
6any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death."
11
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
12
"Behold,
7I 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,
13
for
8all the firstborn are mine.
9On 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."
14
And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15
"List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans;
10every male from a month old and upward you shall list."
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So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.
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11And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.
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And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans:
12Libni and Shimei.
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And the sons of Kohath by their clans:
13Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20
And the sons of Merari by their clans:
14Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses.
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To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites.
22
Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 7,500.
23
15The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west,
24
with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites.
25
And the
16guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved
17the tabernacle,
18the tent with
19its covering,
20the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting,
26
21the hangings of the court,
22the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and
23its cords--all the service connected with these.
27
To Kohath belonged the clan of the
24Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites.
28
According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary.
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The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,
30
with
25Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites.
31
And their guard duty involved
26the ark,
27the table,
28the lampstand,
29the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and
30the screen; all the service connected with these.
32
And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.
33
To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari.
34
Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200.
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And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
36
31And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the
32frames of the tabernacle,
33the bars,
34the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these;
37
also
35the pillars around the court, with their bases and
36pegs and
37cords.
38
Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons,
38guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death.
39
All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were
39 22,000.