Numbers 4

1 AND the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,

“Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families,

3 From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things:

This service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards the most holy things.

5 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:

Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.

6 And shall put thereon the covering of badgers’ skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.

They are to place over this a covering of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth over it, and insert its poles.

7 And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon:

Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and place the plates and cups on it, along with the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to remain on it.

8 And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put in the staves thereof.

And they shall spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with fine leather, and insert the poles.

9 And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:

They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, together with its lamps, wick trimmers, and trays, as well as the jars of oil with which to supply it.

10 And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put it upon a bar.

Then they shall wrap it and all its utensils inside a covering of fine leather and put it on the carrying frame.

11 And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:

Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles.

12 And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put them on a bar:

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

13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:

Then they shall remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it,

14 And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers’ skins, and put to the staves of it.

and place on it all the vessels used to serve there: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and sprinkling bowls—all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread over it a covering of fine leather and insert the poles.

15 And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.

When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.

16 And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.

Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including the holy objects and their utensils.”

17 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:

“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites.

19 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:

In order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry.

20 But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.

But the Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.”

21 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

And the LORD said to Moses,

22 Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families;

“Take a census of the Gershonites as well, by their families and clans,

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

from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens:

This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transport:

25 And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers’ skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting with the covering of fine leather over it, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,

26 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 instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve.

the curtains of the courtyard, and the curtains for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. The Gershonites will do all that needs to be done with these items.

27 At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.

All the service of the Gershonites—all their transport duties and other work—is to be done at the direction of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry.

28 This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting, and their duties shall be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

29 As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;

As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their clans and families,

30 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.

from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work of the Tent of Meeting.

31 And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,

This is the duty for all their service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle with its crossbars, posts, and bases,

32 And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.

and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and everything related to their use. You shall assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry.

33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

This is the service of the Merarite clans according to all their work at the Tent of Meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

34 And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the Kohathites by their clans and families,

35 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:

everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

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

And those numbered by their clans totaled 2,750.

37 These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

These were counted from the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron numbered them according to the command of the LORD through Moses.

38 And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers,

Then the Gershonites were numbered by their clans and families,

39 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

40 Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

And those numbered by their clans and families totaled 2,630.

41 These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the Lord.

These were counted from the Gershonite clans who served at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the LORD’s command.

42 And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,

And the Merarites were numbered by their clans and families,

43 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,

everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

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

The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200.

45 These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

These were counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the LORD’s command through Moses.

46 All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers,

So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered by their clans and families all the Levites

47 From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation,

from thirty to fifty years old who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting.

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

And the number of men was 8,580.

49 According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the Lord commanded Moses.

At the LORD’s command they were numbered through Moses and each one was assigned his work and burden, as the LORD had commanded Moses.