Song for today: Great is the Lord

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God!
His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
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We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
As your name, O God,
so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
•••
that you may tell the next generation
that this is God,
our God forever and ever.
He will guide us forever.
from Psalm 48

These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.
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These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.
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And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle.
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And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”
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All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000.
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And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.
•••
as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, you shall take five shekels per head; ••• and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price
from Number 3

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Take a census of the sons of Kohath ••• This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things.
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Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans. From thirty years old up to fifty years old ••• This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens:
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the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses. ••• this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle
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According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the Lord commanded Moses.
from Numbers 4