Aana yaAaron
1 Ezimo lyaAaron naMoses olyo ndika, uuna ndoka Omuwa a popi naMoses kondundu Sinai. 2 Aaron okwa li e na oyana aamati yane; oyo Nadab, osheeli, Abihu, Eleasar naItamar. 3 Oya li ya gwayekwa noya yapulwa ya ninge aayambi, 4 ihe Nadab naAbihu oya dhipagwa, sho ya yambele Omuwa mombuga Sinai omulilo gwaa shi omuyapuki. Kaya li ye na aanona, onkee Eleasar naItamar oya longo oshilonga shuuyambi muuyuni wahe Aaron.
Aalevi taa langekwa okuyakula aayambi
5 Omuwa okwa lombwele Moses a ti: 6 “Hedhitha huka Aalevi, u ya langeke aayakuli yomuyambi Aaron. 7 Naa longe iilonga tayi pumbiwa metsalihangano yo ya yakule omuyambi Aaron negongalo alihe. 8 Naa tonatele iikwaniipangitho ayihe metsalihangano e taa longo peha lyAaisraeli. 9 Aaisraeli naa gandje Aalevi, opo ya yakule Aaron noyana. 10 Ihe Aaron noyana oto ya langeke miilonga yuuyambi. Ngele oku na gulwe ta kambadhala oku ya holela, na dhipagwe.”
11 Omuwa okwa lombwele Moses a ti: 12-13 “Ngashingeyi Aalevi oyandje. Sho nda dhipaga aatango yAayegipiti, osheeli shomegumbo kehe lyomuIsrael onde shi iyapulile, nosheeli shoshimuna kehe. Ngashingeyi peha lyokukala niisheeli yomuIsrael ondi na Aalevi; oyo oyandje. Ongame Omuwa.”
Aalevi taa yalulwa
14 Omuwa okwa lombwele Moses mombuga Sinai, 15 a yalule Aalevi pamaludhi nopamagumbo gawo nokunyola omulumentu kehe gwomwedhi gumwe nenge e vule po. 16 Moses okwe shi ningi. 17-20 Levi okwa li e na oyana aamati yatatu: Gerson, Kohat naMerari, mboka ya li oohekulu yomaludhi ngoka ge ya lukilwa. Gerson okwa li e na oyana aamati yaali: Libni naShimei. Kohat okwa li e na oyana aamati yane: Amram, Izhar, Hebron naUssiel. Merari okwa li e na oyana aamati yaali: Mahli naMushi. Oyo ya li oohekulu yomaludhi ngoka ge ya lukilwa.
21 MuGerson omwa zi ezimo lyaLibni nolyaShimei. Mbaka Aakwagerson. 22 Omwaalu gwawo aguhe gwaalumentu yomwedhi gumwe naamboka ye vule po, ogwa li 7 500. 23 Oludhi nduka olwa li halu yungu ontanda kuuninginino konima yetsalihangano 24 pamwe naEljasaf lyaLael, omukuluntu gwoludhi. 25 Oya li ye na oshimpwiyu shotenda, omasiikilo gayo, eshigolapi lyayo, 26 omalapi gehale lyetsalihangano, eshigolapi lyoposheelo shehale, oshiyambelo noongodhi dhehale. Oya li ye na oshimpwiyu shomayakulo agehe ge na ekwatathano niinima mbika.
27 MuKohat omwa zi ezimo lyaAmram, lyaIzhar, lyaHebron nolyaUssiel. Mbaka Aakwakehat. 28 Omwaalu gwawo aguhe gwaalumentu yomwedhi gumwe naamboka ye vule po, ogwa li 8 600. 29 Oludhi nduka olwa li halu yungu ontanda kuumbugantu wetsalihangano 30 pamwe naElisafan lyaUssiel, omukuluntu gwoludhi. 31 Oya li aanashimpwiyu yoshikethahangano, oshitaafula, oshihukikwanyeka, iiyambelo, iikwaniipangitho mbyoka hayi longithwa kaayambi melongelokalunga, netopolitho tali yoolola Ehala lyUuyapuki kEhala lyUuyapukielela. Oya li ye na oshimpwiyu shomayakulo agehe ge na ekwatathano niinima mbika.
32 Omukuluntu gwAalevi okwa li Eleasar lyaAaron omuyambi. Oye a li ta tonatele ayehe mboka taa yakula metsalihangano.
33 MuMerari omwa zi ezimo lyaMahli nolyaMushi. Mbaka Aakwamerari. 34 Omwaalu gwawo aguhe gwaalumentu yomwedhi gumwe naamboka ye vule po, ogwa li 6 200. 35 Oludhi nduka olwa li halu yungu ontanda kuumbangalantu wetsalihangano pamwe naSuriel yaAbihail, omukuluntu gwoludhi. 36 Oya li ya pewa oshimpwiyu shiipilangi yokuthikameka etsalihangano, omalukambo, oongudhi, oompadhi niipumbiwa yalyo ayihe. Oya li ye na oshimpwiyu shomayakulo agehe ge na ekwatathano niinima mbika. 37 Oya sile wo oongundhi dhehale noompadhi, oongodhi noomboha dhadho oshimpwiyu.
38 Moses naAaron noyana oya li ye na okuyunga ontanda komeho getsalihangano lwokuuzilo. Oya li ye na oshimpwiyu shokutsakanitha omayakulo metsalihangano molwAaisraeli. Shaa ngoka gulwe te shi yelekele e shi ninge, oku na okudhipagwa. 39 Omwaalu gwaalumentu Aalevi ayehe kumwe yomwedhi gumwe naamboka ye vule po payalulo lyomaludhi lya ningwa palombwelo lyOmuwa, ogwa li 22 000.
Aalevi taa pingene aatango
40 Omuwa okwa lombwele Moses a ti: “Yalula aamati ayehe aatango yAaisraeli okuza kumboka yomwedhi gumwe naamboka ye vule po; kutha omwaalu gwomadhina gawo. 41 Aalevi oye na okukala yandje peha lyaatango ayehe yAaisraeli, niimuna yAalevi otayi pingene po iimuna yAaisraeli. Ongame Omuwa.” 42 Moses okwa vulika nokwa yalula aamati ayehe aatango 43 yomwedhi gumwe naamboka ye vule po, nomwaalu gwawo aguhe ogwa li 22 273.
44 Omuwa okwa lombwele Moses a ti: 45 “Ngashingeyi yoololela ndje Aalevi ya ninge yandje peha lyaamati ayehe aatango yAaisraeli. Yoolola wo iimuna ayihe yAalevi peha lyiimuna ayihe iitango yAaisraeli. 46 Aatango mbaka 273 ye vule omwaalu gwAalevi ou na oku ya kulila ko. 47 Shaa ngoka ota gu iisiliveli itano pandjele yiimaliwa mbyoka hayi longithwa motempeli. 48 Gandja iimaliwa mbika yiikulila kuAaron noyana.” 49 Moses okwa kutha iimaliwa yiikulila yomwaalu gwaatango mboka ye vule omwaalu gwAalevi. 50 Okwa kutha iimaliwa iisiliveli 1 365 51 e ta pe Aaron noyana ofuto yekulilo, ngaashi Omuwa e mu lombwele.
The Sons of Aaron
1 When the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 Aaron's four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, 3 were the ones to be ordained as priests. 4 But the Lord killed Nadab and Abihu in the Sinai Desert when they used fire that was unacceptable in their offering to the Lord. And because Nadab and Abihu had no sons, only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests with their father Aaron.
The Duties of the Levites
5 The Lord said to Moses:
6 Assign the Levi tribe to Aaron the priest. They will be his assistants 7 and will work at the sacred tent for him and for all the Israelites. 8 The Levites will serve the community by being responsible for the furnishings of the tent. 9 They are assigned to help Aaron and his sons, 10 who have been appointed to be priests. Anyone else who tries to perform the duties of a priest must be put to death.
11-13 Moses, I have chosen these Levites from all Israel, and they will belong to me in a special way. When I killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the first-born sons in every Israelite family and the first-born males of their flocks and herds would be mine. But now I accept these Levites in place of the first-born sons of the Israelites.
The Levites Are Counted
14 In the Sinai Desert the Lord said to Moses, 15 “Now I want you to count the men and boys in the Levi tribe by families and by clans. Include every one at least a month old.” 16 So Moses obeyed and counted them.
17 Levi's three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, had become the heads of their own clans. 18 Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei. 19 Kohath's sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. These were the sons and grandsons of Levi, and they had become the leaders of the Levite clans.
21 The two Gershon clans were the Libnites and Shimeites, 22 and they had 7,500 men and boys at least one month old. 23-24 The Gershonites, under the leadership of Eliasaph son of Lael, were to camp on the west side of the sacred tent. 25 Their duties at the tent included taking care of the tent itself, along with its outer covering, the curtain for the entrance, 26 the curtains hanging inside the courtyard around the tent, as well as the curtain and ropes for the entrance to the courtyard and its altar. The Gershonites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.
27 The four Kohath clans were the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and the Uzzielites, 28 and they had 8,600 men and boys at least one month old. 29-30 The Kohathites, under the leadership of Elizaphan son of Uzziel, were to camp on the south side of the sacred tent. 31 Their duties at the tent included taking care of the sacred chest, the table for the sacred bread, the lampstand, the altars, the objects used for worship, and the curtain in front of the most holy place. The Kohathites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.
32 Eleazar son of Aaron was the head of the Levite leaders, and he made sure that the work at the sacred tent was done.
33 The two Merari clans were the Mahlites and the Mushites, 34 and they had 6,200 men and boys at least one month old. 35 The Merarites, under the leadership of Zuriel son of Abihail, were to camp on the north side of the sacred tent. 36-37 Their duties included taking care of the tent frames and the pieces that held the tent up: the bars, the posts, the stands, and its other equipment. They were also in charge of the posts that supported the courtyard, as well as their stands, tent pegs, and ropes. The Merari clans were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.
38 Moses, Aaron, and his sons were to camp in front of the sacred tent, on the east side, and to make sure that the Israelites worshiped in the proper way. Anyone else who tried to do the work of Moses and Aaron was to be put to death.
39 So Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord and counted the Levites by their clans. The total number of Levites at least one month old was 22,000.
The Levites Are Accepted as Substitutes for the First-Born Sons
40 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a list and count the first-born sons at least one month old in each of the Israelite families. 41 They belong to me, but I will accept the Levites as substitutes for them, and I will accept the Levites' livestock as substitutes for the Israelites' first-born livestock.”
42 Moses obeyed the Lord and counted the first-born sons; 43 there were 22,273 of them.
44 Then the Lord said, 45 “The Levites will belong to me and will take the place of the first-born sons; their livestock will take the place of the Israelites' first-born livestock. 46 But since there are more first-born sons than Levites, the extra 273 men and boys must be bought back from me. 47 For each one, you are to collect five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. 48 This money must then be given to Aaron and his sons.”
49 Moses collected the silver from the extra 273 first-born men and boys, 50 and it amounted to 1,365 pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. 51 Then he gave it to Aaron and his sons, just as the Lord had commanded.
