Numbers 4

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,

And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:

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

'Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' houses,

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

from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter upon the service, to do work in the tent of meeting.

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

This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, about the most holy things:

5 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.

when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it;

6 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.

and shall put thereon a covering of sealskin, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall set the staves thereof.

7 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.

And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the pans, and the bowls, and the jars wherewith to pour out; and the continual bread shall remain thereon.

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

And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall set the staves thereof.

9 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.

And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and its lamps, and its tongs, and its snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it.

10 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.

And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it upon a bar.

11 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.

And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall set the staves thereof.

12 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.

And they shall take all the vessels of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on a bar.

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

And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon.

14 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.

And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, the fire-pans, the flesh-hooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of sealskin, and set the staves thereof.

15 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.

And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the holy furniture, and all the holy vessels, as the camp is to set forward — after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear them; but they shall not touch the holy things, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.

16 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.”

And the charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the continual meal-offering, and the anointing oil: he shall have the charge of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, whether it be the sanctuary, or the furniture thereof.'

17 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,

And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:

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

'Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;

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

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;

20 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.”

but they shall not go in to see the holy things as they are being covered, lest they die.'

21 Yahweh spoke again to Moses. He said,

And the LORD spoke unto Moses saying:

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

'Take the sum of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses, by their families;

23 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.

from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them: all that enter in to wait upon the service, to do service in the tent of meeting.

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

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

25 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.

they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting, its covering, and the covering of sealskin that is above upon it, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting;

26 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.

and the hangings of the court, and the screen 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 instruments of their service, and whatsoever there may be to do with them, therein shall they serve.

27 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.

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 ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burden.

28 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.

This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting; and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

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

As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them by their families, by their fathers' houses;

30 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.

from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth upon the service, to do the work of the tent of meeting.

31 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,

And this is 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 the sockets thereof;

32 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.

and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, even all their appurtenance, and all that pertaineth to their service; and by name ye shall appoint the instruments of the charge of their burden.

33 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.”

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.'

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

And Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families, and by their fathers' houses,

35 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.

from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered upon the service, for service in the tent of meeting.

36 They counted 2,750 men by their clans.

And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

37 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.

These are they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, of all that did serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

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

And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families, and by their fathers' houses,

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

from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered upon the service, for service in the tent of meeting,

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

even those that were numbered of them, by their families, by their fathers' houses, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

41 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.

These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that did serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD.

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

And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers' houses,

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

from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered upon the service, for service in the tent of meeting,

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

even those that were numbered of them by their families, were three thousand and two hundred.

45 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.

These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

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

All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel numbered, by their families, and by their fathers' houses,

47 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.

from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered in to do the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting,

48 They counted 8,580 men.

even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore.

49 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.

According to the commandment of the LORD they were appointed by the hand of Moses, every one to his service, and to his burden; they were also numbered, as the LORD commanded Moses.