9 “Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. The Levites were chosen from all the Israelites to help Aaron and his sons.
10 “Appoint Aaron and his sons to be priests. They must do their duty and serve as priests. Anyone else who tries to come near the holy things must be killed.”
11 The Lord also said to Moses,
12-13 “I destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt. At that time I chose all the firstborn from every family in Israel to be mine in a special way. That included all the firstborn men and animals. But now I am choosing the Levites to take their place. Now they will be my special servants. I, the Lord, give this command!”
14 The Lord again said to Moses in the desert of Sinai,
15 “Count all the families and family groups in the tribe of Levi. Count every man or boy who is one month old or older.”
16 So Moses obeyed the Lord. He counted them all.