Numbers 4

1 The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from amongst the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ houses,

Take the sum of the sons of Kehath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by their divisions,

3 from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.

From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that are fitted for the service, to do work at the tabernacle of the congregation.

4 “This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting, regarding the most holy things.

This shall be the service of the sons of Kehath at the tabernacle of the congregation: The most holy things.

5 When the camp moves forward, Aaron shall go in with his sons; and they shall take down the veil of the screen, cover the ark of the Testimony with it,

And Aaron shall come with his sons, when the camp setteth forward, and they shall take down the vail of the separation, and cover therewith the ark of the testimony;

6 put a covering of sealskin on it, spread a blue cloth over it, and put in its poles.

And they shall put over it a covering of badgers' skins, and they shall spread over all a cloth wholly of blue [woollen yarn], and they shall put in its staves.

7 “On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be on it.

And over the table of the showbread shall they spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the tubes, and the staves of the covering; and the continual bread shall be thereon:

8 They shall spread on them a scarlet cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.

And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins; and they shall put in its staves.

9 “They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lamp stand of the light, its lamps, its snuffers, its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it.

And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the lighting, and its lamps, and its tongs, and its snuff-dishes, and all the oil-vessels thereof, wherewith they minister by it:

10 They shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it on the frame.

And they shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of badgers' skins, and they shall put it upon a barrow.

11 “On the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.

And over the golden altar shall they spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins; and they shall put in its staves.

12 “They shall take all the vessels of ministry with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame.

And they shall take all the vessels of the service, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins; and they shall put them on a barrow.

13 “They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth on it.

And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread over it a cloth of purple;

14 They shall put on it all its vessels with which they minister about it, the fire pans, the meat hooks, the shovels, and the basins—all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin, and put in its poles.

And they shall put upon it all its vessels, wherewith they minister upon it, the fire-pans, the forks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread over it a covering of badgers' skins, and put in its staves.

15 “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it; but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. The sons of Kohath shall carry these things belonging to the Tent of Meeting.

And when Aaron and his sons have thus made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set forward: then shall, after that, the sons of Kehath come to carry it; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die; these are the things which the sons of Kehath are to carry at the tabernacle of the congregation.

16 “The duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil, the requirements of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, the sanctuary, and its furnishings.”

And under the supervision of Elazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the lighting, and the incense of spices, and the daily meat-offering, and the anointing-oil; the supervision of all the tabernacle, and of all that is therein, over the sanctuary, and over its vessels.

17 The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

18 “Don’t cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from amongst the Levites;

Do ye not cause the tribe of the families of the Kehathites to be cut off from among the Levites;

19 but do this to them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint everyone to his service and to his burden;

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;

20 but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.”

That they may not go in to see when the holy things are covered, and die.

21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses, by their families;

Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, by their divisions, after their families;

23 you shall count them from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old: all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.

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

24 “This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:

This shall be the service of the families of the Gershunites, to serve, and to carry:

25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the covering of sealskin that is on it, the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,

They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and of the tent of the congregation, its covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is over it above, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them. They shall serve in there.

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 vessels of their service; and all that is delivered to them shall they perform.

27 At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burden and in all their service; and you shall appoint their duty to them in all their responsibilities.

By the order of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershunites, in all their carrying, and in all their service: and ye shall designate unto them in charge all which they have to carry.

28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting. Their duty shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershunites at the tabernacle of the congregation; their charge shall be under the supervision of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ houses;

The sons of Merari, shalt thou number after their families, by their divisions;

30 you shall count them from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.

From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, shalt thou number them, every one that is fitted for the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.

31 This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,

And this is what is confided to them to carry, regarding all their service at the tabernacle of the congregation: The boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets,

32 the pillars of the court around it, their sockets, their pins, their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service. You shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden to them by name.

And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and all which belongeth thereto; and by name shall ye designate [to them] the vessels which are confided to them to carry.

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

This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, regarding all their service, at the tabernacle of the congregation, under the supervision of Ithamar the son of Aaron, the priest.

34 Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their families, and by their fathers’ houses,

And Moses with Aaron and the princes of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kehathites after their families, and after their divisions,

35 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service for work in the Tent of Meeting.

From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that was fitted for the service, for the work at the tabernacle of the congregation.

36 Those who were counted of them by their families were two thousand and seven hundred and fifty.

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

37 These are those who were counted of the families of the Kohathites, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kehathites, all that could do service at the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses with Aaron numbered by the order of the Lord through the hand of Moses.

38 Those who were counted of the sons of Gershon, by their families, and by their fathers’ houses,

And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, after their families, and after their divisions,

39 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who entered into the service for work in the Tent of Meeting,

From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that was fitted for the service, for the work at the tabernacle of the congregation,

40 even those who were counted of them, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

Even those that were numbered of them, after their families, after their divisions, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.

41 These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of the LORD.

These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all that could do service at the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses with Aaron numbered by the order of the Lord.

42 Those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers’ houses,

And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, after their families, after their divisions,

43 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old—everyone who entered into the service for work in the Tent of Meeting,

From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that was fitted for the service, for the work at the tabernacle of the congregation.

44 even those who were counted of them by their families, were three thousand and two hundred.

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

45 These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

These are those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses with Aaron numbered by the order of the Lord through the hand of Moses.

46 All those who were counted of the Levites whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel counted, by their families and by their fathers’ houses,

All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses with Aaron and the chiefs of Israel numbered, after their families, and after their divisions,

47 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered in to do the work of service and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting,

From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the carrying at the tabernacle of the congregation,

48 even those who were counted of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and eighty.

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

49 According to the commandment of the LORD they were counted by Moses, everyone according to his service and according to his burden. Thus they were counted by him, as the LORD commanded Moses.

By the order of the Lord through the hand of Moses, did he appoint them, every one to his proper service, and to his proper carrying: and they were numbered, as the Lord had commanded Moses.