In these verses Moses carries out the LORD’s instructions of verses 45-48.

So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites: The redemption money, which is literally “the silver of the redemption,” may be rendered “the ransom money.” The Hebrew word for redemption comes from the same root as the one in verse 46 (see the comments there). Those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites refers to the 273 firstborn Israelite sons who were in excess of the 22,000 whom the Levite males replaced (see verse 46).

From the first-born of the people of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels: Moses took the silver from the firstborn Israelite sons who paid for their ransom. The total amount he collected from them was one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels (273 x 5 = 1,365), which is equivalent to about 15.5 kilograms (34 pounds) of silver (see verse 47).

Reckoned by the shekel of the sanctuary: See verse 47.

And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons: See verse 48.

According to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses: Moses did what God instructed him to do. According to the word of the LORD is literally “upon the mouth of the LORD” (see the comments on verse 16). To avoid the repetition here, Good News Translation has simply “Moses obeyed” at the beginning of these verses. But this rendering is unnecessarily free. The repetition here stresses the notion of explicit obedience, which is an important feature of these legislative texts. Bijbel in Gewone Taal provides a better model for these verses which is more accurate as well as concise. Bijbel in Gewone Taal combines verses 49-51 into a single sentence as follows:

• Moses collected 1,365 silver pieces and gave these to Aaron and his sons [on behalf of the 273 extra firstborn persons], as the Lord had commanded [Moses].

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .