Aaron's Sons

¹This is the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.

²Aaron had four sons: Nadab, the oldest, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

³They were anointed and ordained as priests,

⁴but 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.

The Levites Are Appointed to Serve the Priests

⁵The Lord said to Moses,

⁶“Bring forward the tribe of Levi and appoint them as servants of Aaron the priest.

⁷They shall do the work required for the Tent of my presence and perform duties for the priests and for the whole community.

⁸They shall take charge of all the equipment of the Tent and perform the duties for the rest of the Israelites.

⁹The only responsibility the Levites have is to serve Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰You 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.”

¹¹The Lord said to Moses,

^12-13“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.”

The Census of the Levites

¹⁴In the Sinai Desert the Lord commanded Moses

¹⁵to register the Levites by clans and families, enrolling every male a month old or older,

¹⁶and Moses did so.

^17-20Levi 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.

²¹The clan of Gershon was composed of the families of Libni and Shimei.

²²The total number of males one month old or older that were enrolled was 7,500.

²³This clan was to camp on the west behind the Tent,

²⁴with Eliasaph son of Lael as chief of the clan.

²⁵They were responsible for the Tent, its inner cover, its outer cover, the curtain for the entrance,

²⁶the 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.

²⁷The clan of Kohath was composed of the families of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁸The total number of males one month old or older that were enrolled was 8,600.

²⁹This clan was to camp on the south side of the Tent,

³⁰with Elizaphan son of Uzziel as chief of the clan.

³¹They 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.

³²The 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.

³³The clan of Merari was composed of the families of Mahli and Mushi.

³⁴The total number of males one month old or older that were enrolled was 6,200.

³⁵This clan was to camp on the north side of the Tent, with Zuriel son of Abihail as chief of the clan.

³⁶They 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.

³⁷They were also responsible for the posts, bases, pegs, and ropes for the outer court.

³⁸Moses 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.

³⁹The 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.

The Levites Take the Place of the First-Born Sons

^40-41The 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.”

⁴²Moses obeyed, and registered all the first-born males

⁴³one month old or older; the total was 22,273.

⁴⁴The Lord said to Moses,

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.

⁴⁶Since the first-born Israelite sons outnumber the Levites by 273, you must buy back the extra sons.

⁴⁷For each one pay five pieces of silver, according to the official standard,

⁴⁸and give this money to Aaron and his sons.”

⁴⁹Moses obeyed and took

⁵⁰the 1,365 pieces of silver

⁵¹and gave them to Aaron and his sons.

Israel Conquers King Og

¹“Next, we moved north toward the region of Bashan, and King Og came out with all his men to fight us near the town of Edrei.

²But the Lord said to me, ‘Don't be afraid of him. I am going to give him, his men, and all his territory to you. Do the same thing to him that you did to Sihon the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon.’

³“So the Lord also placed King Og and his people in our power, and we slaughtered them all.

⁴At the same time we captured all his towns—there was not one that we did not take. In all we captured sixty towns—the whole region of Argob, where King Og of Bashan ruled.

⁵All these towns were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars to lock the gates, and there were also many villages without walls.

⁶We destroyed all the towns and put to death all the men, women, and children, just as we did in the towns that belonged to King Sihon of Heshbon.

⁷We took the livestock and plundered the towns.

⁸“At that time we took from those two Amorite kings the land east of the Jordan River, from the Arnon River to Mount Hermon.

⁹(Mount Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians, and Senir by the Amorites.)

¹⁰We took all the territory of King Og of Bashan: the cities on the plateau, the regions of Gilead and of Bashan, as far east as the towns of Salecah and Edrei.”

¹¹(King Og was the last of the Rephaim. His coffin, made of stone, was six feet wide and almost fourteen feet long, according to standard measurements. It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)

The Tribes That Settled East of the Jordan

¹²“When we took possession of the land, I assigned to the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory north of the town of Aroer near the Arnon River and part of the hill country of Gilead, along with its towns.

¹³To half the tribe of Manasseh I assigned the rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, where Og had ruled, that is, the entire Argob region.” (Bashan was known as the land of the Rephaim.

¹⁴Jair, from the tribe of Manasseh, took the entire region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of Geshur and Maacah. He named the villages after himself, and they are still known as the villages of Jair.)

¹⁵“I assigned Gilead to the clan of Machir of the tribe of Manasseh.

¹⁶And to the tribes of Reuben and Gad I assigned the territory from Gilead to the Arnon River. The middle of the river was their southern boundary, and their northern boundary was the Jabbok River, part of which formed the Ammonite border.

¹⁷On the west their territory extended to the Jordan River, from Lake Galilee in the north down to the Dead Sea in the south and to the foot of Mount Pisgah on the east.

¹⁸“At the same time, I gave them the following instructions: ‘The Lord our God has given you this land east of the Jordan to occupy. Now arm your fighting men and send them across the Jordan ahead of the other tribes of Israel, to help them occupy their land.

¹⁹Only your wives, children, and livestock—I know you have a lot of livestock—will remain behind in the towns that I have assigned to you.

²⁰Help the other Israelites until they occupy the land that the Lord is giving them west of the Jordan and until the Lord lets them live there in peace, as he has already done here for you. After that, you may return to this land that I have assigned to you.’

²¹“Then I instructed Joshua: ‘You have seen all that the Lord your God did to those two kings, Sihon and Og; and he will do the same thing to everyone else whose land you invade.

²²Don't be afraid of them, for the Lord your God will fight for you.’

Moses Is Not Permitted to Enter Canaan

²³“At that time I earnestly prayed,

²⁴‘Sovereign Lord, I know that you have shown me only the beginning of the great and wonderful things you are going to do. There is no god in heaven or on earth who can do the mighty things that you have done!

²⁵Let me cross the Jordan River, Lord, and see the fertile land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon Mountains.’

²⁶“But because of you people the Lord was angry with me and would not listen. Instead, he said, ‘That's enough! Don't mention this again!

²⁷Go to the peak of Mount Pisgah and look to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west. Look carefully at what you see, because you will never go across the Jordan.

²⁸Give Joshua his instructions. Strengthen his determination, because he will lead the people across to occupy the land that you see.’

²⁹“So we remained in the valley opposite the town of Bethpeor.”

A Cry for Help

¹Lord God, my savior, I cry out all day, and at night I come before you.

²Hear my prayer; listen to my cry for help!

³So many troubles have fallen on me that I am close to death.

⁴I am like all others who are about to die; all my strength is gone.

⁵I am abandoned among the dead; I am like the slain lying in their graves, those you have forgotten completely, who are beyond your help.

⁶You have thrown me into the depths of the tomb, into the darkest and deepest pit.

⁷Your anger lies heavy on me, and I am crushed beneath its waves.

⁸You have caused my friends to abandon me; you have made me repulsive to them. I am closed in and cannot escape;

⁹my eyes are weak from suffering. Lord, every day I call to you and lift my hands to you in prayer.

¹⁰Do you perform miracles for the dead? Do they rise up and praise you?

¹¹Is your constant love spoken of in the grave or your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

¹²Are your miracles seen in that place of darkness or your goodness in the land of the forgotten?

¹³Lord, I call to you for help; every morning I pray to you.

¹⁴Why do you reject me, Lord? Why do you turn away from me?

¹⁵Ever since I was young, I have suffered and been near death; I am worn out from the burden of your punishments.

¹⁶Your furious anger crushes me; your terrible attacks destroy me.

¹⁷All day long they surround me like a flood; they close in on me from every side.

¹⁸You have made even my closest friends abandon me, and darkness is my only companion.