Numbers 4
1 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,
2 “Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families,
“Conduct a census of the male descendants of Kohath from among the Levites, by their clans and families.
3 men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
Count all the men who are thirty to fifty years old. These men must join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.
4 This service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards the most holy things.
The descendants of Kohath must take care of the most holy things reserved for me in the tent of meeting.
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 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.
6 They are to place over this a covering of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth over it, and insert its poles.
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.
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.
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.
8 And they shall spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with fine leather, and insert the poles.
They must cover them with a scarlet cloth and again with sea cow skins. They must insert poles to carry the table.
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.
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.
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 put the lampstand and all its accessories into a covering of sea cow skins, and they must put it on a carrying frame.
11 Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles.
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.
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 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.
13 Then they shall remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it,
They must remove the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth on the altar.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
17 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,
18 “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites.
“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be removed from among the Levites.
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.
Protect them, that they may live and not die, by doing this. When they approach the most holy things
20 But the Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.”
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.”
21 And the LORD said to Moses,
Yahweh spoke again to Moses. He said,
22 “Take a census of the Gershonites as well, by their families and clans,
“Conduct a census of the descendants of Gershon also, by their ancestor's families and by their clans.
23 from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
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.
24 This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transport:
This is the work of the clans of the Gershonites, when they serve and what they carry.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
29 As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their clans and families,
You must count the descendants of Merari by their clans, and order them by their ancestor's families,
30 from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work of the Tent of Meeting.
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.
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,
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,
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
34 So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the Kohathites by their clans and families,
Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the descendants of the Kohathites by the clans of their ancestor's families.
35 everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
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.
36 And those numbered by their clans totaled 2,750.
They counted 2,750 men by their clans.
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.
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.
38 Then the Gershonites were numbered by their clans and families,
The descendants of Gershon were counted in their clans, by their ancestor's families,
39 everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
from thirty to fifty years old, everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.
40 And those numbered by their clans and families totaled 2,630.
All the men, counted by their clans and their ancestor's families, numbered 2,630.
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.
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.
42 And the Merarites were numbered by their clans and families,
The descendants of Merari were counted in their clans by their ancestor's families,
43 everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
from thirty to fifty years old, everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.
44 The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200.
All the men, counted by their clans and their ancestor's families, numbered 3,200.
45 These were counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the LORD’s command through Moses.
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.
46 So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered by their clans and families all the Levites
So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans in their ancestral families
47 from thirty to fifty years old who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting.
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.
48 And the number of men was 8,580.
They counted 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.
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.
