Numbers 4
1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying,
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,
2 'Take up the sum of the sons of Kohath from the midst of the sons of Levi, by their families, by the house of their fathers;
“Write down the names of the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi.
3 from a son of thirty years and upward, even till a son of fifty years, every one going in to the host, to do work 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 'This [is] the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, the holy of holies:
“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 that Aaron and his sons have come in, in the journeying of the camp, and have taken down the vail of the hanging, and have covered with it the ark of the testimony;
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 and have put on it a covering of badger skin, and have spread a garment completely of blue above, and have placed its staves.
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 'And on the table of the presence they spread a garment of blue, and have put on it the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and the cups of the libation, and the bread of continuity is on it,
“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 and they have spread over them a garment of scarlet, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves,
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 and have taken a garment of blue, and have covered the candlestick of the lamp, and its lights, and its snuffers, and its snuff-dishes, and all its oil vessels wherewith they minister to it;
“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 and they have put it and all its vessels unto a covering of badger skin, and have put [it] on the bar.
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 'And on the golden altar they spread a garment of blue, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves;
“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 and have taken all the vessels of ministry wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and have put [them] unto a garment of blue, and have covered them with a covering of badger skin, and have put [them] on the bar,
“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 and have removed the ashes of the altar, and have spread over it a garment of purple;
“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 and have put on it all its vessels wherewith they minister about it, the censers, the hooks, and the shovels, and the bowls, all the vessels of the altar, and have spread on it a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves:
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 'And Aaron hath finished — his sons also — covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, in the journeying of the camp, and afterwards do the sons of Kohath come in to bear [it], and they do not come unto the holy thing, that they have died; these [things are] the burden of the sons of Kohath 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 'And the oversight of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, [is] the oil of the lamp, and the spice-perfume, and the present of continuity, and the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that [is] in it, in the sanctuary, and in its vessels.'
“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 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
“Then Yahweh said to Aaron and Moses/me,
18 'Ye do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathite from the midst of 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 but this do to them, and they have lived, and do not die in their drawing nigh the holy of holies: — Aaron and his sons go in, and have set them, each man to his service, and unto his burden,
20 and they go not in to see when the holy thing is swallowed, that they have died.'
21 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
Yahweh also said to Moses/me,
22 'Take up the sum of the sons of Gershon also by the house of their fathers, by their families;
“Write down the names of all the men who belong to the clans descended from the Gershon [division of the descendants of Levi].
23 from a son of thirty years and upward, till a son of fifty years thou dost number them, every one who is going in to serve the host, to do the service 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 service of the families of the Gershonite, to serve — and for burden,
“This is the work that they must do and the things that they must carry [when you move to a new location]:
25 and they have borne the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tent of meeting, its covering, and the covering of the badger [skin] which [is] on it above, and the vail at the opening of 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 and the hangings of the court, and the vail at the opening 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 made for them — and they have served.
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 '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 ye have laid a charge on them concerning the charge of all their burden.
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 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.
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 'The sons of Merari, by their families, by the house of their fathers, thou dost number them;
Count also the men who belong to the clans descended from Levi’s son Merari.
30 from a son of thirty years and upward even unto a son of fifty years thou dost number them, every one who is going in to the host, to do the service of 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 'And this [is] the charge of their burden, of all their service in the tent of meeting; the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its 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 and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, of all their vessels, and of all their service; and by name ye do number the vessels of the charge of their burden.
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 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.'
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 And Moses numbereth — Aaron also, and the princes of the company — the sons of the Kohathite, by their families, and by the house of their fathers,
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 from a son of thirty years and upward even unto a son of fifty years, every one who is going in to the host, for service 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 and their numbered ones, by their families, are two thousand seven hundred and fifty.
The total was 2,750 men.
37 These [are] those numbered of the families of the Kohathite, every one who is serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, by the command of Jehovah, by the hand of 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 And those numbered of the sons of Gershon, by their families, and by the house of their fathers,
They/We also counted the descendants of Gershon, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
39 from a son of thirty years and upward even unto a son of fifty years, every one who is going in to the host, for service 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 even their numbered ones, by their families, by the house of their fathers, are two thousand and six hundred and thirty.
The total was 2,630 men.
41 These [are] those numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, every one who is serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered by the command of Jehovah.
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 And those numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by the house of their fathers,
They/We also counted the descendants of Merari, writing also the names of their clans and family groups.
43 from a son of thirty years and upward even unto a son of fifty years, every one who is going in to the host, for service 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 even their numbered ones, by their families, are three thousand and two hundred.
The total was 3,200 men.
45 These [are] those numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, by the command of Jehovah, by the hand of 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 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,
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 a son of thirty years and upward even unto a son of fifty years, every one who is going in to do the work of the service, even the service of burden 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 even their numbered ones are eight thousand and five hundred and eighty;
The total was 8,580 men.
49 by the command of Jehovah hath [one] numbered them, by the hand of Moses, each man by his service, and by his burden, with his numbered ones, as Jehovah hath commanded 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].
