Numbers 4

1 And YHWH speaks to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from the midst of the sons of Levi, by their families, by the house of their fathers;

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

3 from a son of thirty years and upward, even until a son of fifty years, everyone going in to the host, to do work in the Tent of Meeting.

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.

4 This [is] the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting [for] the most holy things:

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

5 when Aaron and his sons have come in, in the journeying of the camp, and have taken down the veil of the hanging, and have covered the Ark of the Testimony with it,

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,

6 then they have put a covering of tachash skin on it, and have spread a garment completely of blue above, and have placed its poles.

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.

7 And they spread a garment of blue over the table of the presence, and have put the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and the cups of the drink-offering on it, and the bread of continuity is on it,

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.

8 and they have spread a garment of scarlet over them, and have covered it with a covering of tachash skin, and have placed its poles,

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.

9 and have taken a garment of blue, and have covered the lampstand of the lamp, and its lights, and its snuffers, and its snuff-dishes, and all its oil vessels with which they minister to it;

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.

10 and they have put it and all its vessels into a covering of tachash skin, and have put [it] on the bar.

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

11 And they spread a garment of blue over the golden altar, and have covered it with a covering of tachash skin, and have placed its poles,

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.

12 and have taken all the vessels of ministry with which they minister in the holy place, and have put [them] into a garment of blue, and have covered them with a covering of tachash skin, and have put [them] on the bar,

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.

13 and have removed the ashes of the altar, and have spread a garment of purple over it,

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

14 and have put on it all its vessels with which they minister on it—the censers, the hooks, and the shovels, and the bowls, all the vessels of the altar—and have spread a covering of tachash skin on it, and have placed its poles.

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.

15 And Aaron has finished—his sons also—covering the holy place, and all the vessels of the holy place, in the journeying of the camp, and afterward the sons of Kohath come in to carry [it], and they do not come to the holy thing, lest they have died; these [things are] the burden of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting.

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.

16 And the oversight of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, [is] the oil of the lamp, and the spice-incense, and the present of continuity, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the Dwelling Place and of all that [is] in it, in the sanctuary and in its vessels.”

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.”

17 And YHWH speaks to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

18 “You do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathite from the midst of the Levites;

“Do not be willing to lose the people of Kohath from the midst of the Levites.

19 but do this for them, and they have lived and do not die in their drawing near [to] the Holy of Holies: Aaron and his sons go in, and have set them, each man to his service, and to his burden,

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 and they do not go in to see when the holy thing is swallowed, lest they have died.”

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

21 And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

22 “Also take a census of the sons of Gershon by the house of their fathers, by their families;

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

23 from a son of thirty years and upward, until a son of fifty years, you number them—everyone who is going in to serve the host, to do the service in the Tent of Meeting.

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

24 This [is] the service of the families of the Gershonite, to serve and for burden:

This is the duty of the family of the Gershonites:

25 and they have carried the curtains of the Dwelling Place, and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, and the covering of the tachash [skin] which [is] on it above, and the veil at the opening of the Tent of Meeting,

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,

26 and the hangings of the court, and the veil at the opening of the gate of the court which [is] by the Dwelling Place, and by the altar all around, and their cords, and all the vessels of their service, and all that is made for them—and they have served.

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

27 By the command of Aaron and his sons is all the service of the sons of the Gershonite, in all their burden and in all their service; and you have laid a charge on them concerning the charge of all their burden.

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.

28 This [is] the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonite in the Tent of Meeting; and their charge [is] under the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

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.

29 The sons of Merari, by their families, by the house of their fathers—you number them;

Likewise, you shall take a census of the sons of Merari, by the families and houses of their fathers,

30 from a son of thirty years and upward even to a son of fifty years, you number them—everyone who is going in to the host, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting.

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.

31 And this [is] the charge of their burden, of all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the boards of the Dwelling Place, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets,

These are their burdens: They shall carry the panels of the tabernacle and its bars, the columns and their bases,

32 and the pillars of the court all around, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, of all their vessels, and of all their service; and you number the vessels of the charge of their burden by name.

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.

33 This [is] the service of the families of the sons of Merari, for all their service, in the Tent of Meeting, by the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

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.”

34 And Moses numbers—Aaron also, and the princes of the congregation—the sons of the Kohathite, by their families, and by the house of their fathers,

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,

35 from a son of thirty years and upward even to a son of fifty years, everyone who is going in to the host, for service in the Tent of Meeting,

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

36 and their numbered ones, by their families, are two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

And there were found two thousand seven hundred fifty.

37 These [are] those numbered of the families of the Kohathite, everyone who is serving in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the command of YHWH, by the hand of Moses.

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.

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

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

39 from a son of thirty years and upward even to a son of fifty years, everyone who is going in to the host, for service in the Tent of Meeting,

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

40 even their numbered ones, by their families, by the house of their fathers, are two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

And there were found two thousand six hundred thirty.

41 These [are] those numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who is serving in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the command of YHWH.

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

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

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

43 from a son of thirty years and upward even to a son of fifty years, everyone who is going in to the host, for service in the Tent of Meeting,

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

44 even their numbered ones, by their families, are three thousand and two hundred.

And there were found three thousand two hundred.

45 These [are] those numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the command of YHWH, by the hand of Moses.

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.

46 All those numbered, whom Moses numbered—Aaron also, and the princes of Israel—of the Levites, by their families, and by the house of their fathers,

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,

47 from a son of thirty years and upward even to a son of fifty years, everyone who is going in to do the work of the service, even the service of burden in the Tent of Meeting,

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

48 even their numbered ones are eight thousand and five hundred and eighty;

were together eight thousand five hundred eighty.

49 he has numbered them by the command of YHWH, by the hand of Moses, each man by his service, and by his burden, with his numbered ones, as YHWH has commanded Moses.

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.