Numbers 4

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 Take the sum of the children of Caath from the midst of the sons of Levi, after their families, according to the houses of their fathers' households;

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

3 from twenty-five years old and upward until fifty years, every one that goes in to minister, to do all the works in the tabernacle of witness.

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 And these are the works of the sons of Caath in the tabernacle of witness; it is most holy.

“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 And Aaron and his sons shall go in, when the camp is about to move, and shall take down the shadowing veil, and shall cover with it the ark of the testimony.

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 And they shall put on it a cover, even a blue skin, and put on it above a garment all of blue, and shall put the staves through [the rings].

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 And they shall put on the table set forth for shew-bread a cloth all of purple, and the dishes, and the censers, and the cups, and the vessels with which one offers drink-offerings; and the continual loaves shall be upon 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 put upon it a scarlet cloth, and they shall cover it with a blue covering of skin, and they shall put the staves into it.

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 And they shall take a blue covering, and cover the candlestick that gives light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its funnels, and all the vessels of oil with which they minister.

“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 And they shall put it, and all its vessels, into a blue skin cover; and they shall put it on bearers.

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 And they shall put a blue cloth for a cover on the golden altar, and shall cover it with a blue skin cover, and put in its staves.

“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 And they shall take all the instruments of service, with which they minister in the sanctuary: and shall place them in a cloth of blue, and shall cover them with blue skin covering, and put them upon staves.

“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 And he shall put the covering on the altar, and they shall cover it with a cloth all of purple.

“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 they shall put upon it all the vessels with which they minister upon it, and the fire-pans, and the flesh-hooks, and the cups, and the cover, and all the vessels of the altar; and they shall put on it a blue cover of skins, and shall put in its staves; and they shall take a purple cloth, and cover the laver and its foot, and they shall put it into a blue cover of skin, and put it on bars.

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 And Aaron and his sons shall finish covering the holy things, and all the holy vessels, when the camp begins to move; and afterwards the sons of Caath shall go in to take up [the furniture]; but shall not touch the holy things, lest they die: these shall the sons of Caath bear in the tabernacle of witness.

“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 the son of Aaron the priest is overseer—the oil of the light, and the incense of composition, and the daily meat-offering and the anointing oil, are his charge; even the oversight of the whole tabernacle, and all things that are in it in the holy place, in all the works.

“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 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

“Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,

18 Ye shall not destroy the family of Caath from the tribe out of the midst of 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 This do ye to them, and they shall live and not die, when they approach the holy of holies: Let Aaron and his sons advance, and they shall place them each in his post for bearing.

20 And [so] they shall by no means go in to look suddenly upon the holy things, and die.

21 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

22 Take the sum of the children of Gedson, and these according to the houses of their lineage, according to their families.

“Write down the names of all the men who belong to the clans descended from the Gershon [division of the descendants of Levi].

23 Take the number of them from five and twenty years old and upwards until the age of fifty, every one that goes in to minister, to do his business in the tabernacle of witness.

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 public service of the family of Gedson, to minister and to bear.

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

25 And they shall bear the skins of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of witness, and its veil, and the blue cover that was on it above, and the cover of the door of the tabernacle of witness.

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 And all the curtains of the court which were upon the tabernacle of witness, and the appendages, and all the vessels of service that they minister with they shall attend to.

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 According to the direction of Aaron and his sons shall be the ministry of the sons of Gedson, in all their ministries, and in all their works; and thou shalt take account of them by name in all things borne by them.

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 sons of Gedson in the tabernacle of witness, and their charge by the hand of Ithamar the 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 The sons of Merari according to their families, according to the houses of their lineage, take ye the number of them.

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

30 Take the number of them from five and twenty years old and upwards until fifty years old, every one that goes in to perform the services of the tabernacle of witness.

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 And these are the charges of the things borne by them according to all their works in the tabernacle of witness: they shall bear the chapiters of the tabernacle, and the bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and the veil, and [there shall be] their sockets, and their pillars, and the curtain of the door of the tabernacle.

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 they shall bear the pillars of the court round about, and [there shall be] their sockets, and [they shall bear] the pillars of the veil of the door of the court, and their sockets and their pins, and their cords, and all their furniture, and all their instruments of service: take ye their number by name, and all the articles of the charge of the things borne by them.

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 ministration of the family of the sons of Merari in all their works in the tabernacle of witness, by the hand of Ithamar the 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 And Moses and Aaron and the rulers of Israel took the number of the sons of Caath according to their families, according to the houses of their lineage;

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 from five and twenty years old and upwards to the age of fifty years, every one that goes in to minister and do service in the tabernacle of witness.

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 the numbering of them according to their families was two thousand, seven hundred and fifty.

The total was 2,750 men.

37 This is the numbering of the family of Caath, every one that ministers in the tabernacle of witness, as Moses and Aaron numbered them by the word of the Lord, by the hand of 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 And the sons of Gedson were numbered according to their families, according to the houses of their lineage,

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

39 from five and twenty years old and upward till fifty years old, every one that goes in to minister and to do the services in the tabernacle of witness.

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 the numbering of them according to their families, according to the houses of their lineage, [was] two thousand six hundred and thirty.

The total was 2,630 men.

41 This [is] the numbering of the family of the sons of Gedson, every one who ministers in the tabernacle of witness; whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word of the Lord, by the hand of Moses.

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 also the family of the sons of Merari were numbered according to their divisions, according to the house of their fathers;

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

43 from five and twenty years old and upward till fifty years old, every one that goes in to minister in the services of the tabernacle of witness.

They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.

44 And the numbering of them according to their families, according to the houses of their lineage, [was] three thousand and two hundred.

The total was 3,200 men.

45 This [is] the numbering of the family of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the word of the Lord, by the hand of 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 All that were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron and the rulers of Israel numbered, [namely], the Levites, according to their families and according to the houses of their lineage,

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 five and twenty years old and upward till fifty years old, every one that goes in to the service of the works, and the [charge of] the things that are carried in the tabernacle of witness.

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 they that were numbered were eight thousand five hundred and eighty.

The total was 8,580 men.

49 He reviewed them by the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses, appointing each man severally over their [respective] work, and over their burdens; and they were numbered, as the Lord 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].