Numbers 4
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
2 “Conduct a census of the male descendants of Kohath from among the Levites, by their clans and families.
“Write down the names of the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi.
3 Count all the men who are thirty to fifty years old. These men must join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.
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.
4 The descendants of Kohath must take care of the most holy things reserved for me in the tent of meeting.
“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.
5 When the camp prepares to move forward, Aaron and his sons must go into the tent, take down the curtain that separates the most holy place from the holy place and cover the ark of the testimony with it.
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.
6 They must cover the ark with sea cow skins. They must spread a blue cloth over it. They must insert the poles to carry it.
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].
7 They are to spread a blue cloth on the table of the bread of the presence. On it they must put the dishes, spoons, bowls, and jars for pouring. Bread must always continue to be on the table.
“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.
8 They must cover them with a scarlet cloth and again with sea cow skins. They must insert poles to carry the table.
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].
9 They must take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand, along with its lamps, tongs, trays, and all the jars of oil for the lamps.
“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].
10 They must put the lampstand and all its accessories into a covering of sea cow skins, and they must put it on a carrying frame.
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.
11 They must spread a cloth of blue on the gold altar. They must cover it with a covering of sea cow skins, and then insert the carrying poles.
“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.
12 They must take all the equipment for the work in the holy place and wrap it in a blue cloth. They must cover it with sea cow skins and put the equipment on the carrying frame.
“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.
13 They must remove the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth on the altar.
“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.
14 They must put on the carrying frame all the equipment that they use in the work of the altar. These objects are the firepans, forks, shovels, bowls, and all the other equipment for the altar. They must cover the altar with sea cow skins and then insert the carrying poles.
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].
15 When Aaron and his sons have completely covered the holy place and all its equipment, and when the camp moves forward, then the descendants of Kohath must come to carry the holy place. If they touch the holy instruments, they must die. This is the work of the descendants of Kohath, to carry the furnishings in the tent of meeting.
“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].
16 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest oversees the care of the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil. He oversees the care of the entire tabernacle and all that is in it, the holy place and its equipment.”
“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.”
17 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said,
“Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
18 “Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be removed from among the Levites.
“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.”
19 Protect them, that they may live and not die, by doing this. When they approach the most holy things
20 they must not go in to see the holy place even for a moment, or they must die. Aaron and his sons must go in, and then Aaron and his sons must assign each of the Kohathites to his work, to his special tasks.”
21 Yahweh spoke again to Moses. He said,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
22 “Conduct a census of the descendants of Gershon also, by their ancestor's families and by their clans.
“Write down the names of all the men who belong to the clans descended from the Gershon [division of the descendants of Levi].
23 Count those who are thirty years old to fifty years old. Count all of them who will join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.
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.
24 This is the work of the clans of the Gershonites, when they serve and what they carry.
“This is the work that they must do and the things that they must carry [when you move to a new location]:
25 They must carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, its covering, the covering of sea cow skin that is on it, and the curtains for the entrance to the tent of meeting.
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.
26 They must carry the curtains of the court, the curtain for the doorway of the court's gate, which is near the tabernacle and near the altar, their ropes, and all the instruments for their service. Whatever should be done with these things, they must do it.
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.
27 Aaron and his sons must direct all the service of the descendants of the Gershonites, in everything that they transport, and in all their service. You must assign them to all their responsibilities.
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.
28 This is the service of the clans of the descendants of the Gershonites for the tent of meeting. Ithamar son of Aaron the priest must lead them in their service.
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.
29 You must count the descendants of Merari by their clans, and order them by their ancestor's families,
Count also the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi’s son Merari.
30 from thirty years old and older up to fifty years old. Count everyone who is going to join the company and serve in the tent of meeting.
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.
31 This is their responsibility and their work in all their service for the tent of meeting. They must care for the framing of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, and sockets,
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.
32 along with the posts of the courtyard around the tabernacle, their sockets, pegs, and their ropes, with all their hardware. List by name the articles they must carry.
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.
33 This is the service of the clans of the descendants of Merari, what they are to do for the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
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.”
34 Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the descendants of the Kohathites by the clans of their ancestor's families.
So Aaron and Moses/I and the Israeli leaders counted the descendants of Kohath, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
35 They counted them from thirty years old and older up to fifty years old. They counted everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.
They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
36 They counted 2,750 men by their clans.
The total was 2,750 men.
37 Moses and Aaron counted all the men in the clans and families of the Kohathites who serve in the tent of meeting. In doing this, they obeyed what Yahweh had commanded them to do through Moses.
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.
38 The descendants of Gershon were counted in their clans, by their ancestor's families,
They/We also counted the descendants of Gershon, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
39 from thirty to fifty years old, everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.
They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
40 All the men, counted by their clans and their ancestor's families, numbered 2,630.
The total was 2,630 men.
41 Moses and Aaron counted the clans of the descendants of Gershon who would serve in the tent of meeting. In doing this, they obeyed what Yahweh had commanded them to do through Moses.
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.
42 The descendants of Merari were counted in their clans by their ancestor's families,
They/We also counted the descendants of Merari, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
43 from thirty to fifty years old, everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting.
They/We counted all the men who were between 30 and 50 years old who were able to work at the Sacred Tent.
44 All the men, counted by their clans and their ancestor's families, numbered 3,200.
The total was 3,200 men.
45 Moses and Aaron counted all these men, the descendants of Merari. In doing this, they obeyed what Yahweh had commanded them to do through Moses.
They were the descendants of Merari who [were able to] work. Aaron and Moses/I counted them as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.
46 So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans in their ancestral families
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.
47 from thirty to fifty years old. They counted everyone who would do work in the tabernacle, and who would carry and care for the items in the tent of meeting.
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.
48 They counted 8,580 men.
The total was 8,580 men.
49 At Yahweh's command, Moses counted each man, keeping count of each by the type of work he was assigned to do. He counted each man by the kind of responsibility he would bear. In doing this, they obeyed what Yahweh had commanded them to do through Moses.
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].
