34. Their enrollment, registering every male of a month or more, was six thousand two hundred.
35. The leader of the ancestral house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel, son of Abihail. They camped at the north side of the tabernacle.
36. The Merarites were assigned responsibility for the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, columns, pedestals, and all its fittings—and everything pertaining to their maintenance,
37. as well as the columns of the surrounding court with their pedestals, pegs and ropes.
38. East of the tabernacle, that is, in front of the tent of meeting, toward the sunrise, were camped Moses and Aaron and the latter’s sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary incumbent upon the Israelites. Any unauthorized person who came near was to be put to death.
39. The total enrollment of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron enrolled at the direction of the Lord, by clans, every male a month old or more, was twenty-two thousand.
40. The Lord then said to Moses: Enroll every firstborn male of the Israelites a month old or more, and count the number of their names.
41. Then take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, as well as the Levites’ cattle, in place of all the firstborn among the cattle of the Israelites.
42. So Moses enrolled all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord had commanded him.
43. All the firstborn males, registered by name, of a month or more, numbered twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.
44. The Lord said to Moses:
45. Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle, that the Levites may belong to me. I am the Lord.
46. As a redemption-price for the two hundred and seventy-three firstborn of the Israelites over and above the number of the Levites,
47. you shall take five shekels for each individual, according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.
48. Give this money to Aaron and his sons as a redemption-price for the extra number.
49. So Moses took the redemption money for those over and above the ones redeemed by the Levites.