Numbers 4

1 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

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

“Write down the names of the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi.

3 men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at 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 service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards the most holy things.

“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 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.

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

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 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.

“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 a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with fine leather, and insert the poles.

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 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.

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

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

“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 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.

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

“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 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.

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 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.

“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 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.”

“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 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

“Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,

18 “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off 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 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 the Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.”

21 And the LORD said to Moses,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

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

“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 to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work at 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 is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transport:

“This is the work that they must do and the things that they must carry [when you move to a new location]:

25 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,

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 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.

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 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.

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 Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting, and their duties shall be under the direction of Ithamar 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 As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their clans and families,

Count also the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi’s son Merari.

30 from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work 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 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,

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 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.

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 Merarite clans according to all their work at the Tent of Meeting, under the direction of Ithamar 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 So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the Kohathites by their clans and families,

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 everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at 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 numbered by their clans totaled 2,750.

The total was 2,750 men.

37 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.

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 Then the Gershonites were numbered by their clans and families,

They/We also counted the descendants of Gershon, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.

39 everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at 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 And those numbered by their clans and families totaled 2,630.

The total was 2,630 men.

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

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 the Merarites were numbered by their clans and families,

They/We also counted the descendants of Merari, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.

43 everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at 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 The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200.

The total was 3,200 men.

45 These were counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the LORD’s command 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 So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered by their clans and families all the Levites

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 to fifty years old who came to do the work of serving and carrying 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 And the number of men was 8,580.

The total was 8,580 men.

49 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.

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].