< Numbers 4 >

1 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
And YHWH speaks to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
2 “Write down the names of the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi.
“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;
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.
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.
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.
This [is] the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting [for] 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 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,
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].
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.
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 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,
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 they have spread a garment of scarlet over them, and have covered it with a covering of tachash skin, and have placed its poles,
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 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;
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.
and they have put it and all its vessels into a covering of tachash skin, and have put [it] on the bar.
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.
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,
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.
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,
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 have removed the ashes of the altar, and have spread a garment of purple over 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].
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.
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 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.
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 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.”
17 “Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
And YHWH speaks to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
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.”
“You do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathite from the midst of the Levites;
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,
and they do not go in to see when the holy thing is swallowed, lest they have died.”
21 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
22 “Write down the names of all the men who belong to the clans descended from the Gershon [division of the descendants of Levi].
“Also take a census of the sons of Gershon by the house of their fathers, by their families;
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.
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.
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] the service of the families of the Gershonite, to serve and for burden:
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.
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,
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
29 Count also the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi’s son Merari.
The sons of Merari, by their families, by the house of their fathers—you number them;
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.
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.
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] 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,
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 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.
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 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.”
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.
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,
35 They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
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,
36 The total was 2,750 men.
and their numbered ones, by their families, are 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.
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.
38 They/We also counted the descendants of Gershon, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
And those numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families, and by the house of their fathers,
39 They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
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,
40 The total was 2,630 men.
even their numbered ones, by their families, by the house of their fathers, are two thousand and 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.
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.
42 They/We also counted the descendants of Merari, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
And those numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by the house of their fathers,
43 They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
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,
44 The total was 3,200 men.
even their numbered ones, by their families, are three thousand and 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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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,
48 The total was 8,580 men.
even their numbered ones are eight thousand and 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].
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.

< Numbers 4 >