Numbers 4:1–33

Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites

4The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²“Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, ^3bfrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. ⁴This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: ^cthe most holy things. ⁵When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down ^dthe veil of the screen and cover ^ethe ark of the testimony with it. ⁶Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin¹ and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its ^fpoles. ⁷And over the ^gtable of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; ^hthe regular showbread also shall be on it. ⁸Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall ⁱput in its poles. ⁹And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover ^jthe lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. ¹⁰And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. ¹¹And over ^kthe golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ¹²And they shall take all ^lthe vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. ¹³And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. ¹⁵And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that ^mthe sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, ⁿbut they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

¹⁶“And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of ^othe oil for the light, the ^pfragrant incense, ^qthe regular grain offering, and ^rthe anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

¹⁷The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ¹⁸“Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, ¹⁹but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to ^sthe most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, ^20tbut they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

²¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²²“Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans. ^23uFrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can ^vcome to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. ²⁴This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: ^25wthey shall carry ^xthe curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with ^yits covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting ²⁶and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. ²⁷All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. ²⁸This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be ^zunder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

²⁹“As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses. ^30uFrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. ³¹And ^athis is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, ³²and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall ^blist by name the objects that they are required to carry. ³³This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, ^cunder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”