Numbers 1:53 - Easy To Read Version But the men of Levi must make their camp around the Holy Tent. The men of Levi will guard the Holy Tent of the Agreement. {They will protect the Holy Tent} so that nothing bad will happen to the people of Israel.” More versionsKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition But the Levites shall encamp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath upon the congregation of the Israelites; and the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony. American Standard Version (1901) But the Levites shall encamp round about the tabernacle of the testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony. Common English Bible But the Levites will camp around the covenant dwelling so that God’s anger will not strike the Israelite community. The Levites will guard the covenant dwelling. Catholic Public Domain Version Moreover, the Levites shall fix their tents all around the tabernacle, lest there be an indignation over the multitude of the sons of Israel. And they shall stand watch as guardians over the tabernacle of the testimony." Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version But the Levites shall pitch their tents round about the tabernacle, lest there come indignation upon the multitude of the children of Israel: and they shall keep watch, and guard the tabernacle of the testimony. |
So the Levites did all the things they were supposed to do. They took care of the Holy Tent. {\cf2\super [258]} They took care of the Holy Place. {\cf2\super [259]} And they helped their relatives, \{the priests,\} Aaron’s descendants. The Levites helped the priests with the services at the Lord’s temple.
“But as for us, the Lord is our God. We people of Judah have not refused to obey God! We have not left him! The priests who serve the Lord are Aaron’s sons. And the Levites help the priests serve the Lord.
They offer burnt offerings {\cf2\super [172]} and burn incense {\cf2\super [173]} of spices to the Lord every morning and every evening. They put the bread in rows on the special table in the temple. {\cf2\super [174]} And they take care of the lamps on the golden lampstand so it shines bright each and every evening. We very carefully serve the Lord our God. But you people have abandoned him!
So, this is what the Lord All-Powerful says\par about the prophets:\par “I will punish those prophets.\par The punishment will be\par like eating poisoned food and water.\par The prophets started a spiritual sickness.\par And that sickness spread through\par the whole country.\par So I will punish those prophets.\par That sickness came from the prophets\par in Jerusalem.”\par
The prophets tell lies.\par The priests will not do\par what they were chosen to do. {\cf2\super [36]} \par And my people love it this way!\par But what will you people do\par when your punishment comes?”\par
Then Moses spoke to Aaron and his other sons Eleazar and Ithamar. Moses told them, “{Don’t show any sadness!} Don’t tear your clothes or mess up your hair! [116] Don’t show your sadness and you will not be killed. And the Lord will not be angry against all the people. All the people of Israel are your relatives—they can cry about the Lord burning Nadab and Abihu.
Tell the men of Levi that they are responsible for the Holy Tent [5] of the Agreement. They must take care of that tent and all the things that are with it. They must carry the Holy Tent and everything in it. They must make their camp around it and take care of it.
So the people of Israel obeyed all the things that the Lord commanded Moses.
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Get your bronze [218] pan and some fire from the altar. [219] Then put incense [220] on it. Hurry to the group of people and do the things that will make the people pure. [221] The Lord is angry at them. The trouble has already started.”
You should be happy that the God of Israel chose you and made you special. You are different from the rest of the Israelite people. The Lord brought you near to him to do the special work in the Lord’s Holy Tent [201] to help the people of Israel worship him. Isn’t that enough?
Moses put the walking sticks before the Lord in the Tent of the Agreement. [227]
“When the people travel, Levi’s camp will move next. The Meeting Tent [18] will be with them between the other camps. The people will make their camps in the same order that they move. Each person will be with his family flag.
The Gershonite family groups were told to camp in the west. They made their camp behind the Holy Tent. [33]
The Kohathite family groups were given the area to the south of the Holy Tent. [37] This was the area where they camped.
The leader of the Merari family group was Zuriel son of Abihail. This family group was given the area to the north of the Holy Tent. [40] This is the area where they camped.
Moses, Aaron, and his sons camped east of the Holy Tent, [41] in front of the Meeting Tent. They were given the work of caring for the Holy Place. They did this for all the people of Israel. Any other person who came near the Holy Place was to be killed.
And then, from the people’s half, take one thing for every 50 things. This includes people, cows, donkeys, sheep, or any other animal. Give that share to the Levites. Why? Because the Levites take care of the Lord’s Holy Tent.”
For every 50 things, Moses took one thing for the Lord. This included the animals and the people. Then he gave those things to the Levites. Why? Because they took care of the Lord’s Holy Tent. Moses did this like the Lord commanded.
I chose the Levite people from among all the people of Israel. And I give them as gifts to Aaron and his sons. I want them to do the work at the Meeting Tent. They will serve for all the people of Israel. They will help make the sacrifices that make the people of Israel pure. Then no great sickness or trouble will come to the people of Israel when they come near the holy place.”
Tell people God’s message. {\cf2\super [20]} Be ready at all times. Tell people the things they need to do, tell them when they are wrong, and encourage them. Do these things with great patience and careful teaching.
But there were no priests [80] there, and the men of Beth Shemesh looked at the Holy Box of the Lord. So God killed 70 men from Beth Shemesh. The people of Beth Shemesh cried because the Lord punished them so severely.