30. The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31. Their duty shall be the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, the screen, and all its service.
32. Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be prince of the princes of the Levites, with the oversight of those who keep the requirements 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. Those who were counted of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred.
35. The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north side of the tabernacle.
36. The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its instruments, all its service,
37. the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, and their cords.
38. Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting towards the sunrise, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the requirements of the sanctuary for the duty of the children of Israel. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death.
39. All who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the commandment of the Lord, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty-two thousand.
40. The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names.
41. You shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn amongst the children of Israel; and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn amongst the livestock of the children of Israel.”
42. Moses counted, as the Lord commanded him, all the firstborn amongst the children of Israel.
43. All the firstborn males according to the number of names from a month old and upward, of those who were counted of them, were twenty-two thousand and two hundred and seventy-three.