Numbers 4

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

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 “Take a total of the sons of Kohath from the midst of the Levites, by their houses and families,

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

3 from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, of all who enter so as to stand and minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

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 is the service of the sons of Kohath: the tabernacle of the covenant and the Holy of holies.

“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 Aaron and his sons shall enter, when the camp is going to move, and they shall take down the veil, which hangs before the entrance, and they shall wrap the ark of the testimony in 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 and they shall cover it further with a veil of violet skins, and they shall extend over it a cloth made entirely of hyacinth, and they shall draw in the bars.

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 Likewise, they shall wrap the table of the presence in a cloth of hyacinth, and they shall place with it the censers and little mortars, the cups and bowls for pouring out libations; the bread shall be always 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 extend over it a cloth of scarlet, which they shall further cover with a veil of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.

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 shall take also a cloth of hyacinth, with which they shall cover the lampstand with the lamps, and its tongs, and the candle snuffers, and all the vessels of oil, which are necessary for the preparation of the lamps.

“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 over all this they shall place a covering of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.

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 certainly they shall wrap the golden altar in a hyacinth garment, and they shall extend over it a covering of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.

“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 All the vessels with which they minister in the Sanctuary they shall wrap in a cloth of hyacinth, and they shall extend over it a covering of violet skins, and they shall draw in the bars.

“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 Moreover, they shall cleanse the altar of ashes, and they shall wrap it in a purple garment,

“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 place it with all the vessels which they use in its ministry, that is, receptacles for fire, small hooks as well as forks, larger hooks and shovels. They shall cover all the vessels of the altar together with a veil of violet skins, and they shall draw in the 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 when Aaron and his sons have wrapped the Sanctuary and its vessels at the dismantling of the camp, then the sons of Kohath shall enter, so as to carry what has been wrapped. And they shall not touch the vessels of the Sanctuary, lest they die. These are the burdens of the sons of Kohath concerning the tabernacle of the covenant.

“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 Over them shall be Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to whom belongs the care of the oil to prepare the lamps, and the incense compound, and the sacrifice, which is offered continually, and the oil of unction, and whatever pertains to the service of the tabernacle, and all the vessels that are in the Sanctuary.”

“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 “Do not be willing to lose the people of Kohath from 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 But do this for them, so that they may live, and so that they may not die by touching the Holies of holies. Aaron and his sons shall enter, and they shall assign the work of each one, and they shall determine what each one ought to carry.

20 Let no others, out of curiosity, see the things that are in the Sanctuary before they are wrapped, otherwise they shall die.”

21 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

22 “Now also take a total of the sons of Gershon, by their houses and families and kinships,

“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 years and above, even to fifty years. Number all those who enter and minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

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 duty of the family of the Gershonites:

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

25 to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the roof of the covenant, the other covering, and the veil over everything, and the violet tent, which hangs at the entrance of the tabernacle of the covenant,

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 atrium, and the veil at the entrance, which is before tabernacle. Everything that pertains to the altar, the cords, and the vessels of the ministry

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 the sons of Gershon shall carry, under the orders of Aaron and his sons. And so shall each one know to which burden he ought to surrender.

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 family of the Gershonites, in the tabernacle of the covenant, and they shall be under 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 Likewise, you shall take a census of the sons of Merari, by the families and houses of their fathers,

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

30 from thirty years and above, even to fifty years, of all who enter to the office of their ministry and to the service of the covenant of the testimony.

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 These are their burdens: They shall carry the panels of the tabernacle and its bars, the columns and their 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 also the columns surrounding the atrium, with their bases and tent pegs and cords. They shall accept by number all the vessels and articles, and so shall they carry 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 office of the family of the Merarites, and their ministry for the tabernacle of the covenant. And they shall be under 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 Therefore, Moses and Aaron, and the leaders of the assembly, took a census of the sons of Kohath, by the kinships and houses of their fathers,

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 thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, of all who enter to the ministry of the tabernacle of the covenant.

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 there were found two thousand seven hundred fifty.

The total was 2,750 men.

37 This is the number of the people of Kohath, who enter the tabernacle of the covenant. These Moses and Aaron numbered according to 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 The sons of Gershon also were numbered by the kinships and houses of their fathers,

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

39 from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, all who enter so as to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

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 there were found two thousand six hundred thirty.

The total was 2,630 men.

41 This is the people of the Gershonites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord.

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 The sons of Merari also were numbered by the kinships and houses of their fathers,

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

43 from thirty years and above, even to the fiftieth year, all who enter to fulfill the rituals of the tabernacle of the covenant.

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 there were found three thousand two hundred.

The total was 3,200 men.

45 This is the number of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the command 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 who were counted from the Levites, and whom, by name, Moses and Aaron, and the leaders of Israel, counted by the kinships and houses of their fathers,

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 years and above, until the fiftieth year, entering for the ministry of the tabernacle and carrying the burdens,

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 were together eight thousand five hundred eighty.

The total was 8,580 men.

49 Moses took a census of them, according to the word of the Lord, each one according to their office and their burdens, just as the Lord had instructed him.

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].