Numbers 4

Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ houses,

from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter on the service, to do the work in the tent of meeting.

This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, [about] the most holy things:

when the camp sets forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the testimony with it,

and shall put thereon a covering of sealskin, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in the poles of it.

On the table of show bread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be thereon:

and they shall spread on them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the poles of it.

They shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the lampstand of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff dishes, and all the oil vessels of it, with which they minister to it:

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

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

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

They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:

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

When Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp is set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.

The charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the continual meal-offering, and the anointing oil, the charge of all the tent, and of all that therein is, the sanctuary, and the furniture of it.

Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

Don’t cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;

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

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

Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Take the sum of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses, by their families;

from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shall you number them; all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the tent of meeting.

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

they shall bear the curtains of the tent, and the tent of meeting, its covering, and the covering of sealskin that is above on it, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,

and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tent and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them: therein shall they serve.

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 to them in charge all their burden.

This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

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

from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old shall you number them, everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the tent of meeting.

This is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tent, and the bars of it, and the pillars of it, and the sockets of it,

and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name you shall appoint the instruments of the charge of their burden.

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.

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

from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered on the service, for work in the tent of meeting:

and those who were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred fifty.

These are those who were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who did serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.

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

from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered on the service, for work in the tent of meeting,

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

These are those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who did serve in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of Yahweh.

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

from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered on the service, for work in the tent of meeting,

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

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

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

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,

even those who were numbered of them, were eight thousand five hundred eighty.

According to the commandment of Yahweh they were numbered by Moses, everyone according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as Yahweh commanded Moses.