Numbers 4

1 The Lord told Moses and Aaron,

Then spake Yahweh 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.

Reckon up the sum of the sons of Kohath, out of the midst of the sons of Levi, —by their families by their ancestral house:

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 upwards, even unto fifty years, —every one that can enter into the host, to do service in the tent of meeting.

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

This, shall be the labour of the sons of Kohath, in the tent of meeting, —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.

So then Aaron and his sons shall enter when the camp is to set forward, and take down the screening veil, —and enwrap therein 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 put thereon a covering of badgers’ skin, and spread a complete wrapper of blue over above, —and put in the staves thereof.

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 Presence-table, shall they spread a wrapper of blue and put thereon the dishes and the pans and the bowls and the libation cups, the perpetual bread also, thereupon, shall remain;

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 wrapper of crimson, and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skin, —and shall put in the staves thereof.

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.

Then shall they take a wrapper of blue, and cover the light-giving lampstand, and the lamps thereof, and the snuffers thereof and the snuff-trays thereof, —and all the oil-vessels, thereof, wherewith they minister thereunto;

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

and shall put the same and all the vessels thereof, within a covering of, badgers’ skin, —and shall put it upon a frame.

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

And upon the altar of gold, shall they spread a wrapper of blue, and shall cover the same in a covering of badgers’ skin, —and shall put in the staves thereof,

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 utensils of attendance wherewith they attend in the sanctuary, and put them within a wrapper of blue, and cover the same in a covering of badgers’ skin, —and put them on a frame.

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

Then shall they remove the fat-ashes from the altar, —and spread over it a wrapper 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 put thereupon all the utensils thereof wherewith they minister thereupon—the fire-pans, the flesh-hooks—and the shovels and the tossing-bowls, all the utensils of the altar, —and shall spread over it a covering of badgers’ skin and put in the staves thereof.

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.

So shall Aaron and his sons make an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the utensils of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set forward, then after that, shall the sons of Kohath enter to bear it, but they must not put forth a touch unto that which, is holy, else should they die, these, shall be the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.

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.”

But the care of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, [shall be] —the light-giving oil, and the fragrant incense, and the perpetual meal-offering, and the anointing oil, the care of all the habitation, and all that is therein, both as to the sanctuary, and as to the furniture thereof.

17 The Lord told Moses and Aaron,

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:

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

Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be cut off out of the midst of 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.

This, therefore, do ye for them, so shall they live and not die when they approach the most holy place, —Aaron and his sons shall enter and set them man by man over his labour, and unto 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.”

but they shall not enter to see, for a moment, that which is holy, else should they die.

21 The Lord told Moses,

Then spake Yahweh unto Moses, saying:

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

reckon up the sum of the sons of Gershon even of them also, —by their ancestral house by 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 upwards even to fifty years, shalt thou number them, —All that may enter to take rank in the host, to do laborious work in the tent of meeting.

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

This, shall be the labour of the families of the Gershonites, —in labouring and in bearing:

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 bear the curtains of the habitation and the tent of meeting, the covering thereof and the covering of badgers’ skin which is over above it, —and the screen, at the entrance of the tent of meeting;

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 screen for the entrance of the gate of the court which is near the habitation and near the altar round about, and their cords, and all their articles of service, and all that is to be done to them when they shall do their labour,

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.

At the bidding of Aaron and his sons, shall be all the labour of the sons of the Gershonites, to the extent of their every burden, and to the extent of all their labour, —so shall ye appoint unto them in charge their every burden.

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

This, shall be the labour of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, —and, the charge of them, shall be in the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

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

As for the sons of Merari, —by their families by their ancestral house, shall ye number them;

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 upwards even to fifty years, shall ye number them, —all that enter into the host, to do laborious work in the tent of meeting,

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, shall be their charge of the burdens, to the extent of all their labour in the tent of meeting, the boards of the habitation, and the bars thereof and he pillars thereof and the sockets thereof:

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, to the extent of all their articles, to the extent of all their labour, and by names, shall ye put under their care the articles of their charge of burdens.

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, shall be the labour of the families of the sons of Merari, to the extent of all their labour in the tent of meeting, —in the hand of Ithamar, 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.

Then did Moses and Aaron, and the princes of the assembly, number the sons of the Kohathites, by their families, and by their ancestral house;

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 upwards, even unto fifty years old, all that might enter the host, to labour in the tent of meeting;

36 The total by families was 2,750.

and they who were numbered of them, by their families, were found to be 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 who were num-bered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might labour in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron did number, at the bidding of Yahweh by the mediation of Moses.

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

And they who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, —by their families, and by their ancestral house;

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 upwards, even to fifty years old, all that might enter the host, to labour in the tent of meeting:

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

yea they who were numbered of them, by their families, by their ancestral house, —were found to be—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 who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who might labour in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron did number, at the bidding of Yahweh.

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

And they who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families by their ancestral house;

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 upwards, even unto fifty years old, —all that might enter the host to labour in the tent of meeting;

44 The total by families was 3,200.

yea they who were numbered of them, by their families, were found to be—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 they who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, —whom Moses and Aaron did number, at the bidding of Yahweh, by the mediation 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 they who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel did number, even the Levites, by their families and by their ancestral house;

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 upwards, even unto fifty years old, all that might enter, to toil in the work of labouring and in the work of bearing burdens, in the tent of meeting,

48 The sum total was 8,580.

yea, they who were numbered of them were found to be—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.

At the bidding of Yahweh, were they put in charge by the mediation of Moses, man by man, over his labour and over his burden, —yea, they who were put in charge by him, were they, whom Yahweh commanded Moses.