Numbers 4

1 The Lord told Moses and Aaron,

And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

2 “Register the descendants of Kohath from the tribe of Levi, according to their family and father's line.

Take the sum of the sons of Kehath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by their divisions,

3 Count men aged thirty to fifty—all who are entitled to do the work of serving in the Tent of Meeting.

From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that are fitted for the service, to do work at the tabernacle of the congregation.

4 This work that they are to do in the Tent of Meetings involves the things that are most holy.

This shall be the service of the sons of Kehath at the tabernacle of the congregation: The most holy things.

5 Whenever you move camp, Aaron and his sons will go in, take down the veil, and place it over the Ark of the Testimony.

And Aaron shall come with his sons, when the camp setteth forward, and they shall take down the vail of the separation, and cover therewith the ark of the testimony;

6 On top of this they are to put a fine leather covering, spread a cloth of solid blue over it, and then insert its carrying poles.

And they shall put over it a covering of badgers' skins, and they shall spread over all a cloth wholly of blue [woollen yarn], and they shall put in its staves.

7 Have them spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence as well, and put the plates and cups on it, as well as the bowls and jugs for the drink offering. The current bread offering is to stay on it.

And over the table of the showbread shall they spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the tubes, and the staves of the covering; and the continual bread shall be thereon:

8 Over everything they are to spread a crimson cloth, next a fine leather covering, and then insert its carrying poles.

And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins; and they shall put in its staves.

9 Using a blue cloth, they are to cover the lampstand of light, together with its lamps, wick tongs, and trays, as well as the jars of olive oil used to fill them.

And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the lighting, and its lamps, and its tongs, and its snuff-dishes, and all the oil-vessels thereof, wherewith they minister by it:

10 Then have them wrap it together with all its utensils inside a fine leather covering and place it on the carrying frame.

And they shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of badgers' skins, and they shall put it upon a barrow.

11 They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, cover it with fine leather, and then insert its carrying poles.

And over the golden altar shall they spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins; and they shall put in its staves.

12 They are to place all the utensils used for the service in the sanctuary in a blue cloth, cover them with fine leather, and place them on the carrying frame.

And they shall take all the vessels of the service, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins; and they shall put them on a barrow.

13 Have them clean the ashes from the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it,

And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread over it a cloth of purple;

14 and put on it all the equipment used in the services on the altar: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. Spread over it a fine leather covering and then insert its carrying poles.

And they shall put upon it all its vessels, wherewith they minister upon it, the fire-pans, the forks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread over it a covering of badgers' skins, and put in its staves.

15 Once Aaron and his sons have finished covering these holy things and all the equipment connected with them, when the camp is ready to move, the priests of the Kohath family are to come and carry them. But they are forbidden to touch anything holy, otherwise they'll die. These are their responsibilities for moving the Tent of Meeting.

And when Aaron and his sons have thus made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set forward: then shall, after that, the sons of Kehath come to carry it; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die; these are the things which the sons of Kehath are to carry at the tabernacle of the congregation.

16 Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, is to supervise obtaining olive oil for the lamps, the aromatic incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He is in charge of the whole Tabernacle and everything in it—all the holy things and equipment.”

And under the supervision of Elazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the lighting, and the incense of spices, and the daily meat-offering, and the anointing-oil; the supervision of all the tabernacle, and of all that is therein, over the sanctuary, and over its vessels.

17 The Lord told Moses and Aaron,

And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

18 “Make sure the families of Kohath are not wiped out from the Levites.

Do ye not cause the tribe of the families of the Kehathites to be cut off from among the Levites;

19 This is what you have to do so that they'll live and won't die by getting too close to something holy. Aaron and his sons must go in and tell each of them what they have to do and what they have to carry.

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

20 But they must not to go in and look at the things that are most holy, even for just a moment, otherwise they'll die.”

That they may not go in to see when the holy things are covered, and die.

21 The Lord told Moses,

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

22 “Register the descendants of Gershon, according to their family and father's line

Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, by their divisions, after their families;

23 Count men aged thirty to fifty—all who are entitled to do the work of serving in the Tent of Meeting.

From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that are fitted for the service, to do work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

24 This is how the families of Gershon will serve in terms of working and carrying:

This shall be the service of the families of the Gershunites, to serve, and to carry:

25 Have them carry the Tabernacle curtains, the Tent of Meeting with its fine leather covering, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,

They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and of the tent of the congregation, its covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is over it above, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

26 the courtyard curtains, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the Tabernacle and altar, the ropes, and everything connected with their use. The families of Gershon are responsible for everything required involving these items.

And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the vessels of their service; and all that is delivered to them shall they perform.

27 All that they do is to be under the supervision of Aaron and his sons—all their work and carrying assignments. You are to tell them all they are required to carry.

By the order of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershunites, in all their carrying, and in all their service: and ye shall designate unto them in charge all which they have to carry.

28 These are their responsibilities for moving the Tent of Meeting, carried out under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershunites at the tabernacle of the congregation; their charge shall be under the supervision of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

29 Register the descendants of Merari, according to their family and father's line.

The sons of Merari, shalt thou number after their families, by their divisions;

30 Count men aged thirty to fifty—all who are entitled to do the work of serving in the Tent of Meeting.

From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, shalt thou number them, every one that is fitted for the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.

31 This is how they will serve in handling the Tent of Meeting: they are to carry the frames of the Tabernacle with its crossbars, posts, and stands,

And this is what is confided to them to carry, regarding all their service at the tabernacle of the congregation: The boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets,

32 the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their stands, tent pegs, and ropes, all their equipment and everything connected with their use. You are to tell them by name what they are responsible for carrying.

And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and all which belongeth thereto; and by name shall ye designate [to them] the vessels which are confided to them to carry.

33 These are their responsibilities for all their work in moving the Tent of Meeting, carried out under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.”

This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, regarding all their service, at the tabernacle of the congregation, under the supervision of Ithamar the son of Aaron, the priest.

34 Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite leaders registered the families of Kohath according to their family and father's line.

And Moses with Aaron and the princes of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kehathites after their families, and after their divisions,

35 They counted men aged thirty to fifty—all who were entitled to do the work of serving in the Tent of Meeting.

From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that was fitted for the service, for the work at the tabernacle of the congregation.

36 The total by families was 2,750.

And those that were numbered of them after their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

37 This was the total of the families of Kohath—all who were entitled to do the work of serving in the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them in accordance with the Lord's instructions to Moses.

These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kehathites, all that could do service at the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses with Aaron numbered by the order of the Lord through the hand of Moses.

38 The families of Gershon were counted, according to their family and father's line,

And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, after their families, and after their divisions,

39 men aged thirty to fifty—all who were entitled to do the work of serving in the Tent of Meeting.

From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that was fitted for the service, for the work at the tabernacle of the congregation,

40 The total by families and father's line was 2,630.

Even those that were numbered of them, after their families, after their divisions, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

41 This was the total of the families of Gershon —all who were entitled to do the work of serving in the Tent of Meeting. They were registered by Moses and Aaron in accordance with the Lord's instructions.

These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all that could do service at the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses with Aaron numbered by the order of the Lord.

42 The families of Merari were counted, according to their family and father's line,

And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, after their families, after their divisions,

43 men aged thirty to fifty—all who were entitled to do the work of serving in the Tent of Meeting.

From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that was fitted for the service, for the work at the tabernacle of the congregation.

44 The total by families was 3,200.

Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred.

45 This was the total of the families of Merari registered by Moses and Aaron in accordance with the Lord's instructions.

These are those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses with Aaron numbered by the order of the Lord through the hand of Moses.

46 This is how Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite leaders registered all the Levites according to their family and father's line.

All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses with Aaron and the chiefs of Israel numbered, after their families, and after their divisions,

47 They counted men aged thirty to fifty—all who were entitled to do the work of serving in the Tent of Meeting and carrying it.

From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the carrying at the tabernacle of the congregation,

48 The sum total was 8,580.

Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and eighty.

49 It was in response to the Lord's instructions that they were registered by Moses. Each of those registered were told what to do and what to carry, as the Lord had ordered Moses.

By the order of the Lord through the hand of Moses, did he appoint them, every one to his proper service, and to his proper carrying: and they were numbered, as the Lord had commanded Moses.