Numbers 4

1 The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ houses,

Let the sons of Kohath, from among the sons of Levi, be numbered by their families, in the order of their fathers' houses;

3 from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.

All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.

4 “This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting, regarding the most holy things.

And this is to be the work of the sons of Kohath in connection with the most holy things.

5 When the camp moves forward, Aaron shall go in with his sons; and they shall take down the veil of the screen, cover the ark of the Testimony with it,

When all the people go forward, Aaron is to go in with his sons, and take down the veil of the curtain, covering the ark of witness with it;

6 put a covering of sealskin on it, spread a blue cloth over it, and put in its poles.

And putting over it the leather cover and over that a blue cloth; and putting its rods in place.

7 “On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be on it.

And on the table of the holy bread they are to put a blue cloth, and on it all the vessels, the spoons and the basins and the cups; and the holy bread with them;

8 They shall spread on them a scarlet cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.

And over them they are to put a red cloth, covering it with a leather cover, and putting its rods in their places.

9 “They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lamp stand of the light, its lamps, its snuffers, its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it.

And they are to take a blue cloth, covering with it the light-support with its lights and its instruments and its trays and all the oil vessels which are used for it:

10 They shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it on the frame.

All these they are to put in a leather cover, and put it on the frame.

11 “On the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.

On the gold altar they are to put a blue cloth, covering it with a leather cover; and they are to put its rods in their places.

12 “They shall take all the vessels of ministry with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame.

All the vessels which are used in the holy place they are to put in a blue cloth, covering them with a leather cover, and put them on the frame.

13 “They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth on it.

And they are to take away the burned waste from the altar, and put a purple cloth on it;

14 They shall put on it all its vessels with which they minister about it, the fire pans, the meat hooks, the shovels, and the basins—all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin, and put in its poles.

Placing on the cloth all its vessels, the fire-baskets, the meat-hooks, the spades, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; they are to put a leather cover over all these, and put its rods in their places.

15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it; but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. The sons of Kohath shall carry these things belonging to the Tent of Meeting.

And after the holy place and all its vessels have been covered up by Aaron and his sons, when the tents of the people go forward, the sons of Kohath are to come and take it up; but the holy things may not be touched by them for fear of death.

16 “The duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil, the requirements of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, the sanctuary, and its furnishings.”

And Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is to be responsible for the oil for the light, and the sweet perfumes for burning, and the regular meal offering, and the holy oil; the House and the holy place and everything in it will be in his care.

17 The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

18 “Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;

Do not let the family of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites;

19 but do this to them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint everyone to his service and to his burden;

But do this to them, so that life and not death may be theirs when they come near the most holy things; let Aaron and his sons go in and give to every one his work and that which he is to take up;

20 but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.”

But they themselves are not to go in to see the holy place, even for a minute, for fear of death.

21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

And the Lord said to Moses,

22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses, by their families;

Let the sons of Gershon be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;

23 you shall count them from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old: all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.

All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.

24 “This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:

This is to be the work of the Gershonites, the things they are to do and take up.

25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the covering of sealskin that is on it, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,

They are to take up the curtains of the House, and the Tent of meeting with its cover and the leather cover over it, and the hangings for the door of the Tent of meeting;

26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them. They shall serve in there.

And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, with the cords and all the things used for them; whatever is necessary for these, they are to do.

27 At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burden and in all their service; and you shall appoint their duty to them in all their responsibilities.

From the mouth of Aaron and his sons the Gershonites will have word about all the things they are to do and take up; you are to give them their orders.

28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting. Their duty shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

This is the work of the family of the Gershonites in the Tent of meeting, and they will be under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.

29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ houses;

The sons of Merari are to be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;

30 you shall count them from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.

Every one from thirty to fifty years old who is able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.

31 This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,

And this is their part in the work of the Tent of meeting: the transport of the boards and the rods of the Tent, with the pillars and their bases;

32 the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service. You shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden to them by name.

And the pillars of the open space outside it, with their bases and their nails and cords and all the instruments used, and everything which has to be done there; all the instruments for which they are responsible are to be numbered by name.

33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

This is the work which the sons of Merari are to do in connection with the Tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.

34 Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their families, and by their fathers’ houses,

So Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people took in hand the numbering of the sons of the Kohathites, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;

35 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service for work in the Tent of Meeting.

Numbering all those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting;

36 Those who were counted of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred fifty.

And the number of all these was two thousand, seven hundred and fifty.

37 These are those who were counted of the families of the Kohathites, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

This is the number of those of the Kohathites who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.

38 Those who were counted of the sons of Gershon, by their families, and by their fathers’ houses,

And those of the sons of Gershon who were numbered by families,

39 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who entered into the service for work in the Tent of Meeting,

All those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting,

40 even those who were counted of them, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, were two thousand six hundred thirty.

Who were numbered by families in the order of their fathers' houses, were two thousand, six hundred and thirty.

41 These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of the LORD.

This is the number of the sons of Gershon who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.

42 Those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers’ houses,

And those of the sons of Merari who were numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses,

43 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who entered into the service for work in the Tent of Meeting,

All those from thirty to fifty years old who did the work in the Tent of meeting,

44 even those who were counted of them by their families, were three thousand two hundred.

Who were numbered by families, were three thousand, two hundred.

45 These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

This is the number of the sons of Merari, numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.

46 All those who were counted of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel counted, by their families and by their fathers’ houses,

And all the Levites who were numbered by Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses,

47 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered in to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting,

Those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work of the Tent of meeting and of its transport,

48 even those who were counted of them, were eight thousand five hundred eighty.

Came to eight thousand, five hundred and eighty.

49 According to the commandment of the LORD they were counted by Moses, everyone according to his service and according to his burden. Thus they were counted by him, as the LORD commanded Moses.

At the order of the Lord they were numbered by Moses, every one in relation to his work and to his part in the transport; so they were numbered by Moses at the order of the Lord.