Numbers 4

1 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

2 Let the sons of Kohath, from among the sons of Levi, be numbered by their families, in the order of their fathers' houses;

"Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' houses,

3 All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.

from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.

4 And this is to be the work of the sons of Kohath in connection with the most holy things.

This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting, the most holy things.

5 When all the people go forward, Aaron is to go in with his sons, and take down the veil of the curtain, covering the ark of witness with it;

When the camp moves 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 And putting over it the leather cover and over that a blue cloth; and putting its rods in place.

and shall put a covering of sealskin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles.

7 And on the table of the holy bread they are to put a blue cloth, and on it all the vessels, the spoons and the basins and the cups; and the holy bread with them;

On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the pitchers for pouring with them; and the continual bread shall be on it.

8 And over them they are to put a red cloth, covering it with a leather cover, and putting its rods in their places.

They shall spread on them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.

9 And they are to take a blue cloth, covering with it the light-support with its lights and its instruments and its trays and all the oil vessels which are used for it:

They shall take a blue cloth, and cover the lampstand of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it.

10 All these they are to put in a leather cover, and put it on the frame.

They shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it on the frame.

11 On the gold altar they are to put a blue cloth, covering it with a leather cover; and they are to put its rods in their places.

On the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.

12 All the vessels which are used in the holy place they are to put in a blue cloth, covering them with a leather cover, and put them on the frame.

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

13 And they are to take away the burned waste from the altar, and put a purple cloth on it;

They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth on it.

14 Placing on the cloth all its vessels, the fire-baskets, the meat-hooks, the spades, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; they are to put a leather cover over all these, and put its rods in their places.

They shall put on it all its vessels, with which they minister about it, the fire pans, the flesh hooks, the shovels, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin, and put in its poles.

15 And after the holy place and all its vessels have been covered up by Aaron and his sons, when the tents of the people go forward, the sons of Kohath are to come and take it up; but the holy things may not be touched by them for fear of death.

"When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it: but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting.

16 And Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is to be responsible for the oil for the light, and the sweet perfumes for burning, and the regular meal offering, and the holy oil; the House and the holy place and everything in it will be in his care.

"The duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil, the requirements of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, the sanctuary, and its furnishings."

17 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

18 Do not let the family of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites;

"Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;

19 But do this to them, so that life and not death may be theirs when they come near the most holy things; let Aaron and his sons go in and give to every one his work and that which he is to take up;

but thus do to them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them everyone to his service and to his burden;

20 But they themselves are not to go in to see the holy place, even for a minute, for fear of death.

but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die."

21 And the Lord said to Moses,

Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

22 Let the sons of Gershon be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;

"Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses, by their families;

23 All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.

you shall count them from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old; all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.

24 This is to be the work of the Gershonites, the things they are to do and take up.

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

25 They are to take up the curtains of the House, and the Tent of meeting with its cover and the leather cover over it, and the hangings for the door of the Tent of meeting;

they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, and the covering of sealskin that is above on it, and the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,

26 And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, with the cords and all the things used for them; whatever is necessary for these, they are to do.

and the tapestries of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them. So they are to serve.

27 From the mouth of Aaron and his sons the Gershonites will have word about all the things they are to do and take up; you are to give them their orders.

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 you shall appoint their duty to them in all their responsibilities.

28 This is the work of the family of the Gershonites in the Tent of meeting, and they will be under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.

This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting: and their duty shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

29 The sons of Merari are to be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;

"As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families, by their fathers' houses;

30 Every one from thirty to fifty years old who is able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.

you shall count them from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.

31 And this is their part in the work of the Tent of meeting: the transport of the boards and the rods of the Tent, with the pillars and their bases;

This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle's boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,

32 And the pillars of the open space outside it, with their bases and their nails and cords and all the instruments used, and everything which has to be done there; all the instruments for which they are responsible are to be numbered by name.

and the pillars of the court around it, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name you shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden.

33 This is the work which the sons of Merari are to do in connection with the Tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar, the 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 So Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people took in hand the numbering of the sons of the Kohathites, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;

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

35 Numbering all those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting;

from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting.

36 And the number of all these was two thousand, seven hundred and fifty.

Those who were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred fifty.

37 This is the number of those of the Kohathites who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.

These are those who were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah by Moses.

38 And those of the sons of Gershon who were numbered by families,

Those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, their families, and by their fathers' houses,

39 All those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting,

from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting,

40 Who were numbered by families in the order of their fathers' houses, were two thousand, six hundred and thirty.

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

41 This is the number of the sons of Gershon who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.

These are those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah.

42 And those of the sons of Merari who were numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses,

Those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers' houses,

43 All those from thirty to fifty years old who did the work in the Tent of meeting,

from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting,

44 Who were numbered by families, were three thousand, two hundred.

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

45 This is the number of the sons of Merari, numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.

These are those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Jehovah by Moses.

46 And all the Levites who were numbered by Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses,

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

47 Those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work of the Tent of meeting and of its transport,

from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered in to do the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting,

48 Came to eight thousand, five hundred and eighty.

even those who were numbered of them, were eight thousand five hundred eighty.

49 At the order of the Lord they were numbered by Moses, every one in relation to his work and to his part in the transport; so they were numbered by Moses at the order of the Lord.

According to the commandment of Jehovah they were numbered by Moses, everyone according to his service, and according to his burden. Thus were they numbered by him, as Jehovah commanded Moses.