Numbers 4

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,

2 “Take a total of the sons of Kohath from the midst of the Levites, by their houses and families,

“Conduct a census of the male descendants of Kohath from among the Levites, by their clans and families.

3 from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, of all who enter so as to stand and minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

Count all the men who are thirty to fifty years old. These men must join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.

4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath: the tabernacle of the covenant and the Holy of holies.

The descendants of Kohath must take care of the most holy things reserved for me in the tent of meeting.

5 Aaron and his sons shall enter, when the camp is going to move, and they shall take down the veil, which hangs before the entrance, and they shall wrap the ark of the testimony in it,

When the camp prepares to move forward, Aaron and his sons must go into the tent, take down the curtain that separates the most holy place from the holy place and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

6 and they shall cover it further with a veil of violet skins, and they shall extend over it a cloth made entirely of hyacinth, and they shall draw in the bars.

They must cover the ark with sea cow skins. They must spread a blue cloth over it. They must insert the poles to carry it.

7 Likewise, they shall wrap the table of the presence in a cloth of hyacinth, and they shall place with it the censers and little mortars, the cups and bowls for pouring out libations; the bread shall be always on it.

They are to spread a blue cloth on the table of the bread of the presence. On it they must put the dishes, spoons, bowls, and jars for pouring. Bread must always continue to be on the table.

8 And they shall extend over it a cloth of scarlet, which they shall further cover with a veil of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.

They must cover them with a scarlet cloth and again with sea cow skins. They must insert poles to carry the table.

9 They shall take also a cloth of hyacinth, with which they shall cover the lampstand with the lamps, and its tongs, and the candle snuffers, and all the vessels of oil, which are necessary for the preparation of the lamps.

They must take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand, along with its lamps, tongs, trays, and all the jars of oil for the lamps.

10 And over all this they shall place a covering of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.

They must put the lampstand and all its accessories into a covering of sea cow skins, and they must put it on a carrying frame.

11 And certainly they shall wrap the golden altar in a hyacinth garment, and they shall extend over it a covering of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.

They must spread a cloth of blue on the gold altar. They must cover it with a covering of sea cow skins, and then insert the carrying poles.

12 All the vessels with which they minister in the Sanctuary they shall wrap in a cloth of hyacinth, and they shall extend over it a covering of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.

They must take all the equipment for the work in the holy place and wrap it in a blue cloth. They must cover it with sea cow skins and put the equipment on the carrying frame.

13 Moreover, they shall cleanse the altar of ashes, and they shall wrap it in a purple garment,

They must remove the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth on the altar.

14 and they shall place it with all the vessels which they use in its ministry, that is, receptacles for fire, small hooks as well as forks, larger hooks and shovels. They shall cover all the vessels of the altar together with a veil of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.

They must put on the carrying frame all the equipment that they use in the work of the altar. These objects are the firepans, forks, shovels, bowls, and all the other equipment for the altar. They must cover the altar with sea cow skins and then insert the carrying poles.

15 And when Aaron and his sons have wrapped the Sanctuary and its vessels at the dismantling of the camp, then the sons of Kohath shall enter, so as to carry what has been wrapped. And they shall not touch the vessels of the Sanctuary, lest they die. These are the burdens of the sons of Kohath concerning the tabernacle of the covenant.

When Aaron and his sons have completely covered the holy place and all its equipment, and when the camp moves forward, then the descendants of Kohath must come to carry the holy place. If they touch the holy instruments, they must die. This is the work of the descendants of Kohath, to carry the furnishings in the tent of meeting.

16 Over them shall be Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to whom belongs the care of the oil to prepare the lamps, and the incense compound, and the sacrifice, which is offered continually, and the oil of unction, and whatever pertains to the service of the tabernacle, and all the vessels that are in the Sanctuary.”

Eleazar son of Aaron the priest oversees the care of the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil. He oversees the care of the entire tabernacle and all that is in it, the holy place and its equipment.”

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,

18 “Do not be willing to lose the people of Kohath from the midst of the Levites.

“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be removed from among the Levites.

19 But do this for them, so that they may live, and so that they may not die by touching the Holies of holies. Aaron and his sons shall enter, and they shall assign the work of each one, and they shall determine what each one ought to carry.

Protect them, that they may live and not die, by doing this. When they approach the most holy things

20 Let no others, out of curiosity, see the things that are in the Sanctuary before they are wrapped, otherwise they shall die.”

they must not go in to see the holy place even for a moment, or they must die. Aaron and his sons must go in, and then Aaron and his sons must assign each of the Kohathites to his work, to his special tasks.”

21 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Yahweh spoke again to Moses. He said,

22 “Now also take a total of the sons of Gershon, by their houses and families and kinships,

“Conduct a census of the descendants of Gershon also, by their ancestor's families and by their clans.

23 from thirty years and above, even to fifty years. Number all those who enter and minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

Count those who are thirty years old to fifty years old. Count all of them who will join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.

24 This is the duty of the family of the Gershonites:

This is the work of the clans of the Gershonites, when they serve and what they carry.

25 to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the roof of the covenant, the other covering, and the veil over everything, and the violet tent, which hangs at the entrance of the tabernacle of the covenant,

They must carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, its covering, the covering of sea cow skin that is on it, and the curtains for the entrance to the tent of meeting.

26 the curtains of the atrium, and the veil at the entrance, which is before tabernacle. Everything that pertains to the altar, the cords, and the vessels of the ministry

They must carry the curtains of the court, the curtain for the doorway of the court's gate, which is near the tabernacle and near the altar, their ropes, and all the instruments for their service. Whatever should be done with these things, they must do it.

27 the sons of Gershon shall carry, under the orders of Aaron and his sons. And so shall each one know to which burden he ought to surrender.

Aaron and his sons must direct all the service of the descendants of the Gershonites, in everything that they transport, and in all their service. You must assign them to all their responsibilities.

28 This is the service of the family of the Gershonites, in the tabernacle of the covenant, and they shall be under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.

This is the service of the clans of the descendants of the Gershonites for the tent of meeting. Ithamar son of Aaron the priest must lead them in their service.

29 Likewise, you shall take a census of the sons of Merari, by the families and houses of their fathers,

You must count the descendants of Merari by their clans, and order them by their ancestor's families,

30 from thirty years and above, even to fifty years, of all who enter to the office of their ministry and to the service of the covenant of the testimony.

from thirty years old and older up to fifty years old. Count everyone who is going to join the company and serve in the tent of meeting.

31 These are their burdens: They shall carry the panels of the tabernacle and its bars, the columns and their bases,

This is their responsibility and their work in all their service for the tent of meeting. They must care for the framing of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, and sockets,

32 also the columns surrounding the atrium, with their bases and tent pegs and cords. They shall accept by number all the vessels and articles, and so shall they carry them.

along with the posts of the courtyard around the tabernacle, their sockets, pegs, and their ropes, with all their hardware. List by name the articles they must carry.

33 This is the office of the family of the Merarites, and their ministry for the tabernacle of the covenant. And they shall be under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.”

This is the service of the clans of the descendants of Merari, what they are to do for the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

34 Therefore, Moses and Aaron, and the leaders of the assembly, took a census of the sons of Kohath, by the kinships and houses of their fathers,

Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the descendants of the Kohathites by the clans of their ancestor's families.

35 from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, of all who enter to the ministry of the tabernacle of the covenant.

They counted them from thirty years old and older up to fifty years old. They counted everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.

36 And there were found two thousand seven hundred fifty.

They counted 2,750 men by their clans.

37 This is the number of the people of Kohath, who enter the tabernacle of the covenant. These Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

Moses and Aaron counted all the men in the clans and families of the Kohathites who serve in the tent of meeting. In doing this, they obeyed what Yahweh had commanded them to do through Moses.

38 The sons of Gershon also were numbered by the kinships and houses of their fathers,

The descendants of Gershon were counted in their clans, by their ancestor's families,

39 from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, all who enter so as to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

from thirty to fifty years old, everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.

40 And there were found two thousand six hundred thirty.

All the men, counted by their clans and their ancestor's families, numbered 2,630.

41 This is the people of the Gershonites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord.

Moses and Aaron counted the clans of the descendants of Gershon who would serve in the tent of meeting. In doing this, they obeyed what Yahweh had commanded them to do through Moses.

42 The sons of Merari also were numbered by the kinships and houses of their fathers,

The descendants of Merari were counted in their clans by their ancestor's families,

43 from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, all who enter to fulfill the rituals of the tabernacle of the covenant.

from thirty to fifty years old, everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.

44 And there were found three thousand two hundred.

All the men, counted by their clans and their ancestor's families, numbered 3,200.

45 This is the number of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

Moses and Aaron counted all these men, the descendants of Merari. In doing this, they obeyed what Yahweh had commanded them to do through Moses.

46 All who were counted from the Levites, and whom, by name, Moses and Aaron, and the leaders of Israel, counted by the kinships and houses of their fathers,

So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans in their ancestral families

47 from thirty years and above, until the fiftieth year, entering for the ministry of the tabernacle and carrying the burdens,

from thirty to fifty years old. They counted everyone who would do work in the tabernacle, and who would carry and care for the items in the tent of meeting.

48 were together eight thousand five hundred eighty.

They counted 8,580 men.

49 Moses took a census of them, according to the word of the Lord, each one according to their office and their burdens, just as the Lord had instructed him.

At Yahweh's command, Moses counted each man, keeping count of each by the type of work he was assigned to do. He counted each man by the kind of responsibility he would bear. In doing this, they obeyed what Yahweh had commanded them to do through Moses.