Numbers 4
1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, according to their fathers' houses,
“Write down the names of the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi.
3 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, all that enter into the service, to do the work in the tent of meeting.
Write the names of the men who are between 30 and 50 years old. These will be men who will work at the Sacred Tent.
4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: it is most holy.
“The work of these descendants of Kohath will be [to take care of] the sacred items [that are used when the people worship] at the Sacred Tent.
5 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron and his sons shall go in, and they shall take down the veil of separation and cover the ark of testimony with it;
When you Israelis move to another location, Aaron and his sons must enter the tent to take down the curtain that separates the Very Holy Place from the other part of the Sacred Tent. They must cover the sacred chest with that curtain.
6 and shall put thereon a covering of badgers' skin, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put its staves [to it].
Then they must cover that with a nice covering made from the skins of goats. Over that they must spread a blue cloth. Then they must insert into the rings on the chest the poles [for carrying it].
7 And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue; and put thereon the dishes, and the cups, and the bowls, and goblets of the drink-offering; and the continual bread shall be thereon.
“Then they must put a blue cloth over the table on which the priests put the sacred bread. On top of the cloth they must put the bowls [for incense], the pans, the other dishes, the jars for [the wine that will be] offered as a sacrifice, and the sacred bread.
8 And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put its staves [to it].
Over all of this they must spread a scarlet/red cloth. Finally, they must put on top a nice covering made from the skins of goats. Then they must insert into the [rings at the corners of] the tables the poles [for carrying it].
9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff-trays, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they perform its service;
“Then with another blue cloth they must cover the lampstand, the lamps, the lamp snuffers, the trays, and the special jars of [olive] oil [to burn in the lamps].
10 and they shall put it and all the utensils thereof within a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put it upon a pole.
They must cover the lampstand and all the other items with a nice covering made from the skins of goats. They must place all these things on a frame for carrying them.
11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put its staves [to it].
“Then they must spread another blue cloth over the gold altar [which is used for burning] incense. Over this they must spread a nice covering made from the skins of goats. Then they must insert into [the rings of] that altar the poles for carrying it.
12 And they shall take all the instruments of service, wherewith they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put them upon a pole.
“They must take all the other items that are inside the Sacred Tent and wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with a nice covering made from the skins of goats, and place all that on a frame for carrying it.
13 And they shall cleanse the altar of the ashes, and spread a purple cloth thereon;
“Then they must remove the ashes from the altar [on which they have burned sacrifices]. Then they must cover the altar with a purple cloth.
14 and they shall put upon it all the utensils thereof, wherewith they perform service about it: the firepans, the forks, and the shovels, and the bowls, — all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skin, and put its staves [to it].
Then they must spread on top of the cloth all the items used at the altar—the pans [for carrying the hot coals], the meat forks, the shovels, the bowls [for containing the blood to sprinkle on the people], and all the other containers. Then they must spread over all those things a nice covering made from the skins of goats. Then they must insert into [the rings at the sides of] the altar the poles [for carrying it].
15 And when Aaron and his sons have ended covering the sanctuary, and all the utensils of the sanctuary, when the camp setteth forward, then afterwards the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it; but they shall not touch the holy things, lest they die. This is what the sons of Kohath have to carry in the tent of meeting.
“Then Aaron and his sons have finished covering all these sacred things, the Israeli people will be ready to move [to a new location]. The descendants of Kohath must come and carry all the sacred things to [the next place] where you Israelis will set up your tents. But the descendants of Kohath must not touch any of these sacred items, because they will [immediately] die [if they touch them]. They are the ones who will carry these things, [but they must not touch them].
16 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have the oversight of the oil for the light, and the fragrant incense, and the continual oblation, and the anointing oil, — the oversight of the whole tabernacle, and of all that is therein, over the sanctuary, and over its furniture.
“Aaron’s son Eleazar will have the work of taking care of the [olive] oil for the lamps, the nice-smelling incense, the grain which will be burned on the altar each day, and the [olive] oil for anointing [the priests]. Eleazar is the one who will supervise the work that is done at the Sacred Tent and the men who take care of everything that is in it.”
17 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
“Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
18 Ye shall not cut off the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites,
“When the descendants of Kohath approach the sacred items in the Sacred Tent [to take them to another location], Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and show each of them what work to do and what things to carry. But the descendants of Kohath must not enter the Sacred Tent [at any other time] and look at the things that are in it. If they do that, I will get rid of all the descendants of Kohath.”
19 but this shall ye do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they draw near unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden;
20 but they shall not go in and see for a moment the holy things, lest they die.
21 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
22 Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, according to their fathers' houses, after their families.
“Write down the names of all the men who belong to the clans descended from the Gershon [division of the descendants of Levi].
23 From thirty years old and upward to fifty years old shalt thou number them; every one that cometh to labour in the work, to perform the service in the tent of meeting.
Write the names of the men who are between 30 and 50 years old. They will be men who will also work at the Sacred Tent.
24 This shall be the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving, and in carrying:
“This is the work that they must do and the things that they must carry [when you move to a new location]:
25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting, its covering, and the covering of badgers' skin that is above upon it, and the curtain of the entrance to the tent of meeting,
They must carry the curtains of the Sacred Tent; they must carry the Sacred Tent and all the things that cover it, including the nice outer covering made from skins of goats, and the curtain which is at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.
26 and the hangings of the court, and the curtain of the entrance, of the gate of the court, which surroundeth the tabernacle and the altar, and the cords thereof, and all the instruments of their service; and all that is to be done for these things shall they perform.
They must also carry the curtains that form the wall that surrounds the courtyard that surrounds the Sacred Tent and the altar, the curtain that is at the entrance to the courtyard, and the ropes [that fasten the curtains]. They must also do the packing and loading of these things.
27 At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their carrying, and in all their service; and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their carrying.
Aaron and his sons will supervise the work of all the descendants of Gershom. That work includes carrying those things and doing other work that is necessary for moving them. They must tell each of the descendants of Gershom what things they must carry.
28 This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting, and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
Those are the tasks that you must give to the men who belong to the clans descended from Gershom. Aaron’s son Ithamar is the one who will supervise their work.
29 The sons of Merari: after their families, according to their fathers' houses shalt thou number them;
Count also the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi’s son Merari.
30 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the labour, to perform the service of the tent of meeting.
Write the names of the men who are between 30 and 50 years old. They will be men who will also work at the Sacred Tent.
31 And this shall be the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and bases thereof,
Their work will be to carry the frames that hold up the tent, the crossbars, the posts [that hold up the curtains], and the bases.
32 and the pillars of the court round about, and their bases, and their pegs, and their cords, all their instruments, according to all their service; and by name ye shall number to them the materials which are their charge to carry.
They must also carry the posts for [the curtains that form the walls of] the courtyard and the bases for the posts, the tent pegs, and the ropes [to fasten the curtains]. Tell each man what things he must carry.
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.
Those are the tasks that the descendants of Merari must do at the Sacred Tent. Aaron’s son Ithamar is the one who will supervise them.”
34 And Moses and Aaron and the princes of the assembly numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and according to their fathers' houses,
So Aaron and Moses/I and the Israeli leaders counted the descendants of Kohath, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
35 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that entered into the labour, for service in the tent of meeting.
They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
36 And those that were numbered of them according to their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.
The total was 2,750 men.
37 These are they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, every one that served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah through Moses.
They were the descendants of Kohath who [were able to] work at the Sacred Tent. Aaron and Moses/I counted them just as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, after their families, and according to their fathers' houses,
They/We also counted the descendants of Gershon, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
39 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that entered into the labour, for service in the tent of meeting,
They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
40 even those that were numbered of them, after their families, according to their fathers' houses, were two thousand six hundred and thirty.
The total was 2,630 men.
41 These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all that served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah.
They were the descendants of Gershon who [were able to] work at the Sacred Tent. Aaron and Moses/I counted them as Yahweh had commanded.
42 And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, after their families, according to their fathers' houses,
They/We also counted the descendants of Merari, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
43 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that entered into the labour, for service in the tent of meeting,
They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
44 even those that were numbered of them according to their families, were three thousand two hundred.
The total was 3,200 men.
45 These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah through Moses.
They were the descendants of Merari who [were able to] work. Aaron and Moses/I counted them as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
46 All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel numbered, after their families and according to their fathers' houses,
So Aaron and Moses/I and the Israeli leaders counted all the descendants of Levi, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
47 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that came to serve [in] the work of the service, and [in] the work of carrying, in the tent of meeting,
They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old. They were ones who [were able to] work at the Sacred Tent and who carried the tent and everything that was connected with it.
48 even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.
The total was 8,580 men.
49 According to the commandment of Jehovah they were numbered by Moses, every one for his service, and for his burden, and numbered by him, as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
They/We completed the counting [of all the descendants of Levi], as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me. And they/we told each man what work he was to do and what things he must carry [when they moved to a new location].
