Numbers 4

1 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses and unto Aaron saying:

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

2 Reckon up the sum of the sons of Kohath, out of the midst of the sons of Levi, —by their families by their ancestral house:

“Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families,

3 from thirty years old, and upwards, even unto fifty years, —every one that can enter into the host, to do service in the tent of meeting.

men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

4 This, shall be the labour of the sons of Kohath, in the tent of meeting, —the most holy things,

This service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards the most holy things.

5 So then Aaron and his sons shall enter when the camp is to set forward, and take down the screening veil, —and enwrap therein the ark of the testimony;

Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.

6 and put thereon a covering of badgers’ skin, and spread a complete wrapper of blue over above, —and put in the staves thereof.

They are to place over this a covering of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth over it, and insert its poles.

7 And over the Presence-table, shall they spread a wrapper of blue and put thereon the dishes and the pans and the bowls and the libation cups, the perpetual bread also, thereupon, shall remain;

Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and place the plates and cups on it, along with the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to remain on it.

8 and they shall spread over them a wrapper of crimson, and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skin, —and shall put in the staves thereof.

And they shall spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with fine leather, and insert the poles.

9 Then shall they take a wrapper of blue, and cover the light-giving lampstand, and the lamps thereof, and the snuffers thereof and the snuff-trays thereof, —and all the oil-vessels, thereof, wherewith they minister thereunto;

They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, together with its lamps, wick trimmers, and trays, as well as the jars of oil with which to supply it.

10 and shall put the same and all the vessels thereof, within a covering of, badgers’ skin, —and shall put it upon a frame.

Then they shall wrap it and all its utensils inside a covering of fine leather and put it on the carrying frame.

11 And upon the altar of gold, shall they spread a wrapper of blue, and shall cover the same in a covering of badgers’ skin, —and shall put in the staves thereof,

Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles.

12 And they shall take all the utensils of attendance wherewith they attend in the sanctuary, and put them within a wrapper of blue, and cover the same in a covering of badgers’ skin, —and put them on a frame.

They are to take all the utensils for serving in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine leather, and put them on the carrying frame.

13 Then shall they remove the fat-ashes from the altar, —and spread over it a wrapper of purple;

Then they shall remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it,

14 and put thereupon all the utensils thereof wherewith they minister thereupon—the fire-pans, the flesh-hooks—and the shovels and the tossing-bowls, all the utensils of the altar, —and shall spread over it a covering of badgers’ skin and put in the staves thereof.

and place on it all the vessels used to serve there: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and sprinkling bowls—all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread over it a covering of fine leather and insert the poles.

15 So shall Aaron and his sons make an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the utensils of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set forward, then after that, shall the sons of Kohath enter to bear it, but they must not put forth a touch unto that which, is holy, else should they die, these, shall be the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.

When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.

16 But the care of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, [shall be] —the light-giving oil, and the fragrant incense, and the perpetual meal-offering, and the anointing oil, the care of all the habitation, and all that is therein, both as to the sanctuary, and as to the furniture thereof.

Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including the holy objects and their utensils.”

17 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

18 Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off out of the midst of the Levites.

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

19 This, therefore, do ye for them, so shall they live and not die when they approach the most holy place, —Aaron and his sons shall enter and set them man by man over his labour, and unto his burden;

In order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry.

20 but they shall not enter to see, for a moment, that which is holy, else should they die.

But the Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.”

21 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

And the LORD said to Moses,

22 reckon up the sum of the sons of Gershon even of them also, —by their ancestral house by their families;

“Take a census of the Gershonites as well, by their families and clans,

23 from thirty years old and upwards even to fifty years, shalt thou number them, —All that may enter to take rank in the host, to do laborious work in the tent of meeting.

from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

24 This, shall be the labour of the families of the Gershonites, —in labouring and in bearing:

This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transport:

25 they shall bear the curtains of the habitation and the tent of meeting, the covering thereof and the covering of badgers’ skin which is over above it, —and the screen, at the entrance of the tent of meeting;

They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting with the covering of fine leather over it, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,

26 and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court which is near the habitation and near the altar round about, and their cords, and all their articles of service, and all that is to be done to them when they shall do their labour,

the curtains of the courtyard, and the curtains for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. The Gershonites will do all that needs to be done with these items.

27 At the bidding of Aaron and his sons, shall be all the labour of the sons of the Gershonites, to the extent of their every burden, and to the extent of all their labour, —so shall ye appoint unto them in charge their every burden.

All the service of the Gershonites—all their transport duties and other work—is to be done at the direction of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry.

28 This, shall be the labour of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, —and, the charge of them, shall be in the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting, and their duties shall be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

29 As for the sons of Merari, —by their families by their ancestral house, shall ye number them;

As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their clans and families,

30 from thirty years old and upwards even to fifty years, shall ye number them, —all that enter into the host, to do laborious work in the tent of meeting,

from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work of the Tent of Meeting.

31 And, this, shall be their charge of the burdens, to the extent of all their labour in the tent of meeting, the boards of the habitation, and the bars thereof and he pillars thereof and the sockets thereof:

This is the duty for all their service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle with its crossbars, posts, and bases,

32 and the pillars of the court round about and their sockets and their pins and their cords, to the extent of all their articles, to the extent of all their labour, and by names, shall ye put under their care the articles of their charge of burdens.

and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and everything related to their use. You shall assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry.

33 This, shall be the labour of the families of the sons of Merari, to the extent of all their labour in the tent of meeting, —in the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron, the priest.

This is the service of the Merarite clans according to all their work at the Tent of Meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

34 Then did Moses and Aaron, and the princes of the assembly, number the sons of the Kohathites, by their families, and by their ancestral house;

So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the Kohathites by their clans and families,

35 from thirty years old and upwards, even unto fifty years old, all that might enter the host, to labour in the tent of meeting;

everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

36 and they who were numbered of them, by their families, were found to be two thousand, seven hundred and fifty.

And those numbered by their clans totaled 2,750.

37 These, were they who were num-bered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might labour in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron did number, at the bidding of Yahweh by the mediation of Moses.

These were counted from the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron numbered them according to the command of the LORD through Moses.

38 And they who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, —by their families, and by their ancestral house;

Then the Gershonites were numbered by their clans and families,

39 from thirty years old and upwards, even to fifty years old, all that might enter the host, to labour in the tent of meeting:

everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

40 yea they who were numbered of them, by their families, by their ancestral house, —were found to be—two thousand, and six hundred, and thirty.

And those numbered by their clans and families totaled 2,630.

41 These, are they who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who might labour in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron did number, at the bidding of Yahweh.

These were counted from the Gershonite clans who served at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the LORD’s command.

42 And they who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families by their ancestral house;

And the Merarites were numbered by their clans and families,

43 from thirty years old and upwards, even unto fifty years old, —all that might enter the host to labour in the tent of meeting;

everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

44 yea they who were numbered of them, by their families, were found to be—three thousand and two hundred.

The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200.

45 These, are they who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, —whom Moses and Aaron did number, at the bidding of Yahweh, by the mediation of Moses.

These were counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the LORD’s command through Moses.

46 All they who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel did number, even the Levites, by their families and by their ancestral house;

So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered by their clans and families all the Levites

47 from thirty years old and upwards, even unto fifty years old, all that might enter, to toil in the work of labouring and in the work of bearing burdens, in the tent of meeting,

from thirty to fifty years old who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting.

48 yea, they who were numbered of them were found to be—eight thousand, and five hundred, and eighty.

And the number of men was 8,580.

49 At the bidding of Yahweh, were they put in charge by the mediation of Moses, man by man, over his labour and over his burden, —yea, they who were put in charge by him, were they, whom Yahweh commanded Moses.

At the LORD’s command they were numbered through Moses and each one was assigned his work and burden, as the LORD had commanded Moses.