New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 This is the lineage of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
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Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day when the word of the Lord came to Moses on Mount Sinai.
2 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: Nadab the oldest, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 these are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to minister as priests.
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These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests, on whom the holy oil was put, who were marked out as priests.
4 Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unholy fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron.
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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.
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
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And the Lord said to Moses,
6 Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, so that they may assist him.
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Make the tribe of Levi come near, and put them before Aaron the priest, to be his helpers,
7 They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, doing service at the tabernacle;
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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;
8 they shall be in charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and attend to the duties for the Israelites as they do service at the tabernacle.
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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.
9 You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his descendants; they are unreservedly given to him from among the Israelites.
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Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; so that they may be his without question from among the children of Israel.
10 But you shall make a register of Aaron and his descendants; it is they who shall attend to the priesthood, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.
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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.
11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
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And the Lord said to Moses,
12 I hereby accept the Levites from among the Israelites as substitutes for all the firstborn that open the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be mine,
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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;
13 for all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the Lord.
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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 Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying:
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And the Lord said to Moses in the waste land of Sinai,
15 Enroll the Levites by ancestral houses and by clans. You shall enroll every male from a month old and upward.
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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.
16 So Moses enrolled them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded.
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So Moses did as the Lord said, numbering them as he had been ordered.
17 The following were the sons of Levi, by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
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These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.
18 These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei.
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And these are the names of the sons of Gershon, by their families: Libni and Shimei.
19 The sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
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And the sons of Kohath, by their families: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel.
20 The sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their ancestral houses.
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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 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites.
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From Gershon come the Libnites and the Shimeites; these are the families of the Gershonites.
22 Their enrollment, counting all the males from a month old and upward, was seven thousand five hundred.
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Those who were numbered of them, the males from one month old and over, were seven thousand, five hundred.
23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west,
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The tents of the Gershonites are to be placed at the back of the House, to the west.
24 with Eliasaph son of Lael as head of the ancestral house of the Gershonites.
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The chief of the Gershonites is Eliasaph, the son of Lael.
25 The responsibility of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was to be the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting,
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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,
26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the entrance of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service pertaining to these.
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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.
27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites, the clan of the Izharites, the clan of the Hebronites, and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites.
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From Kohath come the Amramites and the Izharites and the Hebronites and the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites.
28 Counting all the males, from a month old and upward, there were eight thousand six hundred, attending to the duties of the sanctuary.
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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.
29 The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle,
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The tents of the Kohathites are to be placed on the south side of the House.
30 with Elizaphan son of Uzziel as head of the ancestral house of the clans of the Kohathites.
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Their chief is Elizaphan, the son of Uzziel.
31 Their responsibility was to be the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen—all the service pertaining to these.
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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.
32 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the leaders of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who had charge of the sanctuary.
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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.
33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari.
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From Merari come the Mahlites and the Mushites; these are the families of Merari.
34 Their enrollment, counting all the males from a month old and upward, was six thousand two hundred.
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Those who were numbered of them, the males of a month old and over, were six thousand, two hundred.
35 The head of the ancestral house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
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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.
36 The responsibility assigned to the sons of Merari was to be the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories—all the service pertaining to these;
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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,
37 also the pillars of the court all around, with their bases and pegs and cords.
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And the pillars of the open space round it, with their bases and nails and cords.
38 Those who were to camp in front of the tabernacle on the east—in front of the tent of meeting toward the east—were Moses and Aaron and Aaron's sons, having charge of the rites within the sanctuary, whatever had to be done for the Israelites; and any outsider who came near was to be put to death.
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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.
39 The total enrollment of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron enrolled at the commandment of the Lord, by their clans, all the males from a month old and upward, was twenty-two thousand.
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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.
40 Then the Lord said to Moses: Enroll all the firstborn males of the Israelites, from a month old and upward, and count their names.
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And the Lord said to Moses, Let all the first male children be numbered, and take the number of their names.
41 But you shall accept the Levites for me—I am the Lord—as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the livestock of the Israelites.
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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 enrolled all the firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him.
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So Moses had all the first sons among the children of Israel numbered, as the Lord said to him.
43 The total enrollment, all the firstborn males from a month old and upward, counting the number of names, was twenty-two thousand two hundred seventy-three.
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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.
44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
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And the Lord said to Moses,
45 Accept the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for their livestock; and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.
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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.
46 As the price of redemption of the two hundred seventy-three of the firstborn of the Israelites, over and above the number of the Levites,
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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,
47 you shall accept five shekels apiece, reckoning by the shekel of the sanctuary, a shekel of twenty gerahs.
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Will be five shekels for every one, by the scale of the holy place (the shekel is twenty gerahs);
48 Give to Aaron and his sons the money by which the excess number of them is redeemed.
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And this money, the price of those over the number of the Levites, is to be given to Aaron and his sons.
49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites;
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So Moses took the money, the price of those whose place had not been taken by the Levites;
50 from the firstborn of the Israelites he took the money, one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, reckoned by the shekel of the sanctuary;
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From the first sons of Israel he took it, a thousand, three hundred and sixty-five shekels, by the scale of the holy place;
51 and Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
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And he gave the money to Aaron and his sons, as the Lord had said.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.