Numbers 4
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
2 “Write down the names of the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi.
Let the sons of Kohath, from among the sons of Levi, be numbered by their families, in the order of their fathers' houses;
3 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.
All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
4 “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.
And this is to be the work of the sons of Kohath in connection with the most holy things.
5 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.
When all the people go forward, Aaron is to go in with his sons, and take down the veil of the curtain, covering the ark of witness with it;
6 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].
And putting over it the leather cover and over that a blue cloth; and putting its rods in place.
7 “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.
And on the table of the holy bread they are to put a blue cloth, and on it all the vessels, the spoons and the basins and the cups; and the holy bread with them;
8 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].
And over them they are to put a red cloth, covering it with a leather cover, and putting its rods in their places.
9 “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].
And they are to take a blue cloth, covering with it the light-support with its lights and its instruments and its trays and all the oil vessels which are used for it:
10 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.
All these they are to put in a leather cover, and put it on the frame.
11 “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.
On the gold altar they are to put a blue cloth, covering it with a leather cover; and they are to put its rods in their places.
12 “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.
All the vessels which are used in the holy place they are to put in a blue cloth, covering them with a leather cover, and put them on the frame.
13 “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.
And they are to take away the burned waste from the altar, and put a purple cloth on it;
14 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].
Placing on the cloth all its vessels, the fire-baskets, the meat-hooks, the spades, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; they are to put a leather cover over all these, and put its rods in their places.
15 “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].
And after the holy place and all its vessels have been covered up by Aaron and his sons, when the tents of the people go forward, the sons of Kohath are to come and take it up; but the holy things may not be touched by them for fear of death.
16 “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.”
And Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is to be responsible for the oil for the light, and the sweet perfumes for burning, and the regular meal offering, and the holy oil; the House and the holy place and everything in it will be in his care.
17 “Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
18 “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.”
Do not let the family of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites;
But do this to them, so that life and not death may be theirs when they come near the most holy things; let Aaron and his sons go in and give to every one his work and that which he is to take up;
But they themselves are not to go in to see the holy place, even for a minute, for fear of death.
21 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
And the Lord said to Moses,
22 “Write down the names of all the men who belong to the clans descended from the Gershon [division of the descendants of Levi].
Let the sons of Gershon be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;
23 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.
All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
24 “This is the work that they must do and the things that they must carry [when you move to a new location]:
This is to be the work of the Gershonites, the things they are to do and take up.
25 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.
They are to take up the curtains of the House, and the Tent of meeting with its cover and the leather cover over it, and the hangings for the door of the Tent of meeting;
26 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.
And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, with the cords and all the things used for them; whatever is necessary for these, they are to do.
27 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.
From the mouth of Aaron and his sons the Gershonites will have word about all the things they are to do and take up; you are to give them their orders.
28 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.
This is the work of the family of the Gershonites in the Tent of meeting, and they will be under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
29 Count also the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi’s son Merari.
The sons of Merari are to be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;
30 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.
Every one from thirty to fifty years old who is able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
31 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.
And this is their part in the work of the Tent of meeting: the transport of the boards and the rods of the Tent, with the pillars and their bases;
32 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.
And the pillars of the open space outside it, with their bases and their nails and cords and all the instruments used, and everything which has to be done there; all the instruments for which they are responsible are to be numbered by name.
33 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.”
This is the work which the sons of Merari are to do in connection with the Tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
34 So Aaron and Moses/I and the Israeli leaders counted the descendants of Kohath, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
So Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people took in hand the numbering of the sons of the Kohathites, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses;
35 They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
Numbering all those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting;
36 The total was 2,750 men.
And the number of all these was two thousand, seven hundred and fifty.
37 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.
This is the number of those of the Kohathites who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.
38 They/We also counted the descendants of Gershon, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
And those of the sons of Gershon who were numbered by families,
39 They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
All those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting,
40 The total was 2,630 men.
Who were numbered by families in the order of their fathers' houses, were two thousand, six hundred and thirty.
41 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.
This is the number of the sons of Gershon who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.
42 They/We also counted the descendants of Merari, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
And those of the sons of Merari who were numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses,
43 They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
All those from thirty to fifty years old who did the work in the Tent of meeting,
44 The total was 3,200 men.
Who were numbered by families, were three thousand, two hundred.
45 They were the descendants of Merari who [were able to] work. Aaron and Moses/I counted them as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
This is the number of the sons of Merari, numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord.
46 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.
And all the Levites who were numbered by Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses,
47 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.
Those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work of the Tent of meeting and of its transport,
48 The total was 8,580 men.
Came to eight thousand, five hundred and eighty.
49 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].
At the order of the Lord they were numbered by Moses, every one in relation to his work and to his part in the transport; so they were numbered by Moses at the order of the Lord.
