32. And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be head over the leaders of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
33. Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari.
34. And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.
35. And the head of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall encamp on the side of the tabernacle to the north.
36. And under the appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the utensils thereof, and all that pertains to them,
37. And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.
38. But those that encamp before the tabernacle on the east, even before the tabernacle of meeting eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary to meet the needs of the children of Israel; and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.
39. All that were numbered of the Levites, who Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.
40. And the LORD said unto Moses,
41. And you shall take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the
42. And Moses numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the firstborn among the children of Israel.