Numbers 4

The Duties of the Kohathitesⓘ

Kohathites' duties with the holy things¹Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²“Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families, ³men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

⁴This service of the Kohathites at the Tent of Meeting regards the most holy things. ⁵Whenever the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the veil of the curtain, and cover the ark of the Testimony^a with it. ⁶They are to place over this a covering of fine leather,^b spread a solid blue cloth over it, and insert its poles.

⁷Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and place the plates and cups on it, along with the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to remain on it. ⁸And they shall spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with fine leather, and insert the poles.

⁹They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, together with its lamps, wick trimmers, and trays, as well as the jars of oil with which to supply it. ¹⁰Then they shall wrap it and all its utensils inside a covering of fine leather and put it on the carrying frame.

¹¹Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles. ¹²They are to take all the utensils for serving in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine leather, and put them on the carrying frame.

¹³Then they shall remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, ¹⁴and place on it all the vessels used to serve there: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and sprinkling bowls—all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread over it a covering of fine leather and insert the poles.

¹⁵When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁶Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including the holy objects and their utensils.”

A warning to protect the Kohathites¹⁷Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ¹⁸“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites. ¹⁹In order that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and what he is to carry. ²⁰But the Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, or they will die.”

The Duties of the Gershonitesⓘ

Gershonite tasks under Ithamar²¹And the Lord said to Moses, ²²“Take a census of the Gershonites as well, by their families and clans, ²³from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.

²⁴This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transport: ²⁵They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting with the covering of fine leather over it, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, ²⁶the curtains of the courtyard, and the curtains for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. The Gershonites will do all that needs to be done with these items.

²⁷All the service of the Gershonites—all their transport duties and other work—is to be done at the direction of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. ²⁸This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting, and their duties shall be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

The Duties of the Meraritesⓘ

Merarite tasks under Ithamar²⁹As for the sons of Merari, you are to number them by their clans and families, ³⁰from thirty to fifty years old, counting everyone who comes to serve in the work of the Tent of Meeting.

³¹This is the duty for all their service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle with its crossbars, posts, and bases, ³²and the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and everything related to their use. You shall assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry.

³³This is the service of the Merarite clans according to all their work at the Tent of Meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

The Numbering of the Levite Clansⓘ

The Levite census of workers³⁴So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation numbered the Kohathites by their clans and families, ³⁵everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. ³⁶And those numbered by their clans totaled 2,750. ³⁷These were counted from the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron numbered them according to the command of the Lord through Moses.

³⁸Then the Gershonites were numbered by their clans and families, ³⁹everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. ⁴⁰And those numbered by their clans and families totaled 2,630. ⁴¹These were counted from the Gershonite clans who served at the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the Lordʼs command.

⁴²And the Merarites were numbered by their clans and families, ⁴³everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. ⁴⁴The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. ⁴⁵These were counted from the Merarite clans, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the Lordʼs command through Moses.

⁴⁶So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel numbered by their clans and families all the Levites ⁴⁷from thirty to fifty years old who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting. ⁴⁸And the number of men was 8,580. ⁴⁹At the Lordʼs command through Moses they were numbered and each one was assigned his work and burden, as the Lord had commanded Moses.