Numbers 4
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 “Write down the names of the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi.
Take the sum of the sons of Kehath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by their divisions,
3 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.
From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that are fitted for the service, to do work at the tabernacle of the congregation.
4 “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.
This shall be the service of the sons of Kehath at the tabernacle of the congregation: The most holy things.
5 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.
And Aaron shall come with his sons, when the camp setteth forward, and they shall take down the vail of the separation, and cover therewith the ark of the testimony;
6 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].
And they shall put over it a covering of badgers' skins, and they shall spread over all a cloth wholly of blue [woollen yarn], and they shall put in its staves.
7 “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.
And over the table of the showbread shall they spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the tubes, and the staves of the covering; and the continual bread shall be thereon:
8 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].
And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins; and they shall put in its staves.
9 “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].
And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the lighting, and its lamps, and its tongs, and its snuff-dishes, and all the oil-vessels thereof, wherewith they minister by it:
10 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.
And they shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of badgers' skins, and they shall put it upon a barrow.
11 “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.
And over the golden altar shall they spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins; and they shall put in its staves.
12 “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.
And they shall take all the vessels of the service, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins; and they shall put them on a barrow.
13 “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.
And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread over it a cloth of purple;
14 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].
And they shall put upon it all its vessels, wherewith they minister upon it, the fire-pans, the forks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread over it a covering of badgers' skins, and put in its staves.
15 “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].
And when Aaron and his sons have thus made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set forward: then shall, after that, the sons of Kehath come to carry it; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die; these are the things which the sons of Kehath are to carry at the tabernacle of the congregation.
16 “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.”
And under the supervision of Elazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the lighting, and the incense of spices, and the daily meat-offering, and the anointing-oil; the supervision of all the tabernacle, and of all that is therein, over the sanctuary, and over its vessels.
17 “Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
18 “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.”
Do ye not cause the tribe of the families of the Kehathites to be cut off from among the Levites;
But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them, every one, to his service and to his burden;
That they may not go in to see when the holy things are covered, and die.
21 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
22 “Write down the names of all the men who belong to the clans descended from the Gershon [division of the descendants of Levi].
Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, by their divisions, after their families;
23 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.
From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that are fitted for the service, to do work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
24 “This is the work that they must do and the things that they must carry [when you move to a new location]:
This shall be the service of the families of the Gershunites, to serve, and to carry:
25 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.
They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and of the tent of the congregation, its covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is over it above, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
26 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.
And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the vessels of their service; and all that is delivered to them shall they perform.
27 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.
By the order of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershunites, in all their carrying, and in all their service: and ye shall designate unto them in charge all which they have to carry.
28 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.
This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershunites at the tabernacle of the congregation; their charge shall be under the supervision of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
29 Count also the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi’s son Merari.
The sons of Merari, shalt thou number after their families, by their divisions;
30 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.
From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, shalt thou number them, every one that is fitted for the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.
31 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.
And this is what is confided to them to carry, regarding all their service at the tabernacle of the congregation: The boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets,
32 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.
And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and all which belongeth thereto; and by name shall ye designate [to them] the vessels which are confided to them to carry.
33 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.”
This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, regarding all their service, at the tabernacle of the congregation, under the supervision of Ithamar the son of Aaron, the priest.
34 So Aaron and Moses/I and the Israeli leaders counted the descendants of Kohath, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
And Moses with Aaron and the princes of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kehathites after their families, and after their divisions,
35 They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that was fitted for the service, for the work at the tabernacle of the congregation.
36 The total was 2,750 men.
And those that were numbered of them after their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.
37 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.
These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kehathites, all that could do service at the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses with Aaron numbered by the order of the Lord through the hand of Moses.
38 They/We also counted the descendants of Gershon, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, after their families, and after their divisions,
39 They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that was fitted for the service, for the work at the tabernacle of the congregation,
40 The total was 2,630 men.
Even those that were numbered of them, after their families, after their divisions, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.
41 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.
These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all that could do service at the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses with Aaron numbered by the order of the Lord.
42 They/We also counted the descendants of Merari, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, after their families, after their divisions,
43 They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that was fitted for the service, for the work at the tabernacle of the congregation.
44 The total was 3,200 men.
Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred.
45 They were the descendants of Merari who [were able to] work. Aaron and Moses/I counted them as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
These are those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses with Aaron numbered by the order of the Lord through the hand of Moses.
46 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.
All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses with Aaron and the chiefs of Israel numbered, after their families, and after their divisions,
47 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.
From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the carrying at the tabernacle of the congregation,
48 The total was 8,580 men.
Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and eighty.
49 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].
By the order of the Lord through the hand of Moses, did he appoint them, every one to his proper service, and to his proper carrying: and they were numbered, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
