The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day when the word of the Lord came to Moses on Mount Sinai.
1
This is the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the oldest, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
2
Aaron had four sons: Nadab, the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests, on whom the holy oil was put, who were marked out as priests.
3
They were anointed and ordained as priests,
4 And Nadab and Abihu were put to death before the Lord when they made an offering of strange fire before the Lord, in the waste land of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar did the work of priests before Aaron their father.
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but Nadab and Abihu were killed when they offered unholy fire to the Lord in the Sinai Desert. They had no children, so Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during Aaron's lifetime.
5 And the Lord said to Moses,
5
The Lord said to Moses,
6 Make the tribe of Levi come near, and put them before Aaron the priest, to be his helpers,
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"Bring forward the tribe of Levi and appoint them as servants of Aaron the priest.
7 In order that they may be responsible to him and to all Israel for the care of the Tent of meeting, and to do the work of the House;
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They shall do the work required for the Tent of my presence and perform duties for the priests and for the whole community.
8 And they will have the care of all the vessels of the Tent of meeting, and will do for the children of Israel all the necessary work of the House.
8
They shall take charge of all the equipment of the Tent and perform the duties for the rest of the Israelites.
9 Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; so that they may be his without question from among the children of Israel.
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The only responsibility the Levites have is to serve Aaron and his sons.
10 And give orders that Aaron and his sons are to keep their place as priests; any strange person who comes near is to be put to death.
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You shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; anyone else who tries to do so shall be put to death."
11 And the Lord said to Moses,
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The Lord said to Moses,
12 See, I have taken the Levites out of the children of Israel to be mine in place of the first sons of the children of Israel;
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"The Levites are now to be mine. When I killed all the first-born of the Egyptians, I consecrated as my own the oldest son of each Israelite family and the first-born of every animal. Now, instead of having the first-born sons of Israel as my own, I have the Levites; they will belong to me. I am the Lord."
13 For all the first sons are mine; on the day when I put to death all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I took for myself every first male birth of man and beast. They are mine; I am the Lord.
14 And the Lord said to Moses in the waste land of Sinai,
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In the Sinai Desert the Lord commanded Moses
15 Let all the children of Levi be numbered by their families and their fathers' houses; let every male of a month old and over be numbered.
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to register the Levites by clans and families, enrolling every male a month old or older,
16 So Moses did as the Lord said, numbering them as he had been ordered.
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and Moses did so.
17 These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.
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Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, who were the ancestors of the clans that bear their names. Gershon had two sons: Libni and Shimei; Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; and Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. They were the ancestors of the families that bear their names.
18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon, by their families: Libni and Shimei.
19 And the sons of Kohath, by their families: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel.
20 And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites in the order of their fathers' houses.
21 From Gershon come the Libnites and the Shimeites; these are the families of the Gershonites.
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The clan of Gershon was composed of the families of Libni and Shimei.
22 Those who were numbered of them, the males from one month old and over, were seven thousand, five hundred.
22
The total number of males one month old or older that were enrolled was 7,500.
23 The tents of the Gershonites are to be placed at the back of the House, to the west.
23
This clan was to camp on the west behind the Tent,
24 The chief of the Gershonites is Eliasaph, the son of Lael.
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with Eliasaph son of Lael as chief of the clan.
25 In the Tent of meeting, the Gershonites are to have the care of the House, and the Tent with its cover, and the veil for the door of the Tent of meeting,
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They were responsible for the Tent, its inner cover, its outer cover, the curtain for the entrance,
26 And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, and all the cords needed for its use.
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the curtains for the court which is around the Tent and the altar, and the curtain for the entrance of the court. They were responsible for all the service connected with these items.
27 From Kohath come the Amramites and the Izharites and the Hebronites and the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites.
27
The clan of Kohath was composed of the families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
28 Those who were numbered of them, the males from one month old and over, were eight thousand, six hundred, who were responsible for the care of the holy place.
28
The total number of males one month old or older that were enrolled was 8,600.
29 The tents of the Kohathites are to be placed on the south side of the House.
29
This clan was to camp on the south side of the Tent,
30 Their chief is Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.
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with Elizaphan son of Uzziel as chief of the clan.
31 In their care are the ark, and the table, and the lights, and the altars, and all the vessels used in the holy place, and the veil, and all they are used for.
31
They were responsible for the Covenant Box, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils the priests use in the Holy Place, and the curtain at the entrance to the Most Holy Place. They were responsible for all the service connected with these items.
32 Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, will be head over all the Levites and overseer of those responsible for the care of the holy place.
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The chief of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. He was in charge of those who carried out the duties in the Holy Place.
33 From Merari come the Mahlites and the Mushites; these are the families of Merari.
33
The clan of Merari was composed of the families of Mahli and Mushi.
34 Those who were numbered of them, the males of a month old and over, were six thousand, two hundred.
34
The total number of males one month old or older that were enrolled was 6,200.
35 The chief of the families of Merari was Zuriel, the son of Abihail: their tents are to be placed on the north side of the House.
35
This clan was to camp on the north side of the Tent, with Zuriel son of Abihail as chief of the clan.
36 And in their care are to be all the boards of the Tent, with their rods and pillars and bases, and all the instruments, and all they are used for,
36
They were assigned responsibility for the frames for the Tent, its bars, posts, bases, and all its fittings. They were responsible for all the service connected with these items.
37 And the pillars of the open space round it, with their bases and nails and cords.
37
They were also responsible for the posts, bases, pegs, and ropes for the outer court.
38 And those whose tents are to be placed on the east side of the House in front of the Tent of meeting, looking to the dawn, are Moses and Aaron and his sons, who will do the work of the holy place for the children of Israel; and any strange person who comes near will be put to death.
38
Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp in front of the Tent on the east. They were responsible for carrying out the services performed in the Holy Place for the people of Israel. Anyone else who tried to do so was to be put to death.
39 All the Levites numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord, all the males of one month old and over numbered in the order of their families, were twenty-two thousand.
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The total number of all the Levite males one month old or older that Moses enrolled by clans at the command of the Lord, was 22,000.
40 And the Lord said to Moses, Let all the first male children be numbered, and take the number of their names.
40
The Lord said to Moses, "All of Israel's first-born sons belong to me. So register by name every first-born male Israelite, one month old or older. But in place of them I claim all the Levites as mine! I am the Lord! I also claim the livestock of the Levites in place of all the first-born of the livestock."
41 And give to me the Levites (I am the Lord) in place of the first sons of the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of the first births among the cattle of the children of Israel.
42 So Moses had all the first sons among the children of Israel numbered, as the Lord said to him.
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Moses obeyed, and registered all the first-born males
43 Every first son from a month old and over was numbered by name, and the number came to twenty-two thousand, two hundred and seventy-three.
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one month old or older; the total was 22,273.
44 And the Lord said to Moses,
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The Lord said to Moses,
45 Take the Levites in place of all the first sons of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle; the Levites are to be mine; I am the Lord.
45
"Now dedicate the Levites as mine in place of all the first-born Israelite sons, and dedicate the livestock of the Levites in place of the first-born of the Israelites' livestock.
46 And the price you have to give for the two hundred and seventy-three first sons of the children of Israel which are in addition to the number of the Levites,
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Since the first-born Israelite sons outnumber the Levites by 273, you must buy back the extra sons.
47 Will be five shekels for every one, by the scale of the holy place (the shekel is twenty gerahs);
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For each one pay five pieces of silver, according to the official standard,
48 And this money, the price of those over the number of the Levites, is to be given to Aaron and his sons.
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and give this money to Aaron and his sons."
49 So Moses took the money, the price of those whose place had not been taken by the Levites;
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Moses obeyed and took
50 From the first sons of Israel he took it, a thousand, three hundred and sixty-five shekels, by the scale of the holy place;
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the 1,365 pieces of silver
51 And he gave the money to Aaron and his sons, as the Lord had said.
51
and gave them to Aaron and his sons.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.