9. You shall thus give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the sons of Israel.
10. So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that they may keep their priesthood, but the layman who comes near shall be put to death."
11. Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12. "Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine.
13. For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord."
14. Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying,
15. "Number the sons of Levi by their fathers' households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number."
16. So Moses numbered them according to the word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded.
17. These then are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari.
18. These are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei;
19. and the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel;
20. and the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers' households.
21. Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites.