11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
12. "I have taken the Levites from the sons of Israel. For the Levites, and all the firstborn who open the womb among the sons of Israel, shall be mine.
13. For every firstborn is mine. From the time that I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified for myself whatever is born first in Israel. From man, even to beast, they are mine. I am the Lord."
14. And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying:
15. "Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and above."
16. Moses numbered them, just as the Lord had instructed,
17. and there were found the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.
18. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei.
19. The sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.
21. From Gershon were two families: the Libnites, and the Shimeites.
22. The people of these were numbered, of the male sex, from one month and above: seven thousand five hundred.
23. These shall encamp behind the tabernacle, toward the west,
24. under the leader Eliasaph the son of Lael.
25. And they shall keep watch over the tabernacle of the covenant:
26. the tabernacle itself, and its covering; the tent that is drawn before the doors of the covering of the covenant; and the curtains of the atrium; likewise, the tent that is suspended at the entrance of the atrium of the tabernacle; and whatever pertains to the ritual of the altar; the cords of the tabernacle and all its implements.
27. The kinship of Kohath includes the peoples of the Amramites and Izharites and Hebronites and Uzzielites. These are the families of the Kohathites, having been counted by their names,