Numbers 4–5

The Duties of the Levite Clan of Kohath

4The Lord told Moses ²to take a census of the Levite clan of Kohath by sub-clans and families, ³and to register all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to work in the Tent of the Lord’s presence. ⁴Their service involves the most holy things.

⁵The Lord gave Moses the following instructions. When it is time to break camp, Aaron and his sons shall enter the Tent, take down the curtain in front of the Covenant Box, and cover the Box with it. ⁶They shall put a fine leather cover over it, spread a blue cloth on top, and then insert the carrying poles.

⁷They shall spread a blue cloth over the table for the bread offered to the Lord and put on it the dishes, the incense bowls, the offering bowls, and the jars for the wine offering. There shall always be bread on the table. ⁸They shall spread a red cloth over all this, put a fine leather cover over it, and then insert the carrying poles.

⁹They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lamp-stand, with its lamps, tongs, trays, and all the olive oil containers. ¹⁰They shall wrap it and all its equipment in a fine leather cover and place it on a carrying frame.

¹¹Next they shall spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, put a fine leather cover over it, and then insert the carrying poles. ¹²They shall take all the utensils used in the Holy Place, wrap them in a blue cloth, put a fine leather cover over them, and place them on a carrying frame. ¹³They shall remove the greasy ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴They shall put on it all the equipment used in the service at the altar: firepans, hooks, shovels, and basins. Then they shall put a fine leather cover over it and insert the carrying poles. ¹⁵When it is time to break camp, the clan of Kohath shall come to carry the sacred objects only after Aaron and his sons have finished covering them and all their equipment. The clan of Kohath must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die.

These are the responsibilities of the clan of Kohath whenever the Tent is moved.

¹⁶Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall be responsible for the whole Tent and for the oil for the lamps, the incense, the grain offerings, the anointing oil, and everything else in the Tent that has been consecrated to the Lord.

¹⁷The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ¹⁸“Do not let the clan of Kohath ¹⁹be killed by coming near these most sacred objects. To prevent this happening, Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each man his task and tell him what to carry. ²⁰But if the Kohathites enter the Tent and see the priests preparing the sacred objects for moving,^a they will die.”

The Duties of the Levite Clan of Gershon

²¹The Lord told Moses ²²to take a census of the Levite clan of Gershon by sub-clans and families, ²³and to register all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to work in the Tent of the Lord’s presence. ²⁴They shall be responsible for carrying the following objects: ²⁵the Tent, its inner cover, its outer cover, the fine leather cover on top of it, the curtain for the entrance, ²⁶the curtains and ropes for the court that is round the Tent and the altar, the curtains for the entrance of the court, and all the fittings used in setting up these objects. They shall perform all the tasks required for these things. ²⁷Moses and Aaron shall see to it that the Gershonites perform all the duties and carry everything that Aaron and his sons assign to them. ²⁸These are the responsibilities of the Gershon clan in the Tent; they shall carry them out under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

The Duties of the Levite Clan of Merari

²⁹The Lord told Moses to take a census of the Levite clan of Merari by sub-clans and families, ³⁰and to register all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to work in the Tent of the Lord’s presence. ³¹They shall be responsible for carrying the frames, bars, posts, and bases of the Tent, ³²and the posts, bases, pegs, and ropes of the court round the Tent, with all the fittings used in setting them up. Each man will be responsible for carrying specific items. ³³These are the responsibilities of the Merari clan in their service in the Tent: they shall carry them out under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

The Census of the Levites

^34–48Following the Lord’s command, Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community took a census of the three Levite clans, Kohath, Gershon, and Merari. They did this by sub-clans and families and registered all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to work in the Tent of the Lord’s presence, as follows:

Clan

Number

Kohath

2,750

Gershon

2,630

Merari

3,200

Total: 8,580

⁴⁹Each man was registered as the Lord had commanded Moses; and at the command of the Lord given through Moses, each man was assigned responsibility for his task of serving or carrying.

Unclean People

5The Lord said to Moses, ²“Command the people of Israel to expel from the camp everyone with a dreaded skin disease or a bodily discharge and everyone who is unclean by contact with a corpse. ³Send all these ritually unclean people out, so that they will not defile the camp, where I live among my people.” ⁴The Israelites obeyed and expelled them all from the camp.

Repayment for Wrongs Done

^5*The Lord gave Moses ^6*the following instructions for the people of Israel. When anyone is unfaithful to the Lord and commits a wrong against someone, ^7*he must confess his sin and make full repayment, plus an additional twenty per cent, to the person he has wronged. ^8*But if that person has died and has no near relative to whom payment can be made, it shall be given to the Lord for the priest. This payment is in addition to the ram used to perform the ritual of purification for the guilty person. ⁹Also every special contribution which the Israelites offer to the Lord belongs to the priest to whom they present it. ¹⁰Each priest shall keep the offerings presented to him.

Cases of Wives with Suspicious Husbands

¹¹The Lord commanded Moses ^12–14to give the Israelites the following instructions. It may happen that a man becomes suspicious that his wife is unfaithful to him and has defiled herself by having intercourse with another man. But the husband may not be certain, for his wife may have kept it secret—there was no witness, and she was not caught in the act. Or it may happen that a husband becomes suspicious of his wife, even though she has not been unfaithful. ¹⁵In either case the man shall take his wife to the priest. He shall also take the required offering of one kilogramme of barley flour, but he shall not pour any olive oil on it or put any incense on it, because it is an offering from a suspicious husband, made to bring the truth to light.

¹⁶The priest shall bring the woman forward and make her stand in front of the altar. ¹⁷He shall pour some holy water into a clay bowl and take some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tent of the Lord’s presence and put it in the water to make it bitter. ¹⁸Then he shall loosen the woman’s hair and put the offering of flour in her hands. In his hands the priest shall hold the bowl containing the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹Then the priest shall make the woman agree to this oath spoken by the priest: “If you have not committed adultery, you will not be harmed by the curse that this water brings. ²⁰But if you have committed adultery, ²¹may the Lord make your name a curse among your people. May he cause your genital organs to shrink and your stomach to swell up. ²²May this water enter your stomach and cause it to swell up and your genital organs to shrink.”

The woman shall respond, “I agree; may the Lord do so.”

²³Then the priest shall write this curse down and wash the writing off into the bowl of bitter water. ²⁴Before he makes the woman drink the water, which may then cause her bitter pain, ²⁵the priest shall take the offering of flour out of the woman’s hands, hold it out in dedication to the Lord, and present it on the altar. ²⁶Then he shall take a handful of it as a token offering and burn it on the altar. Finally, he shall make the woman drink the water. ²⁷If she has committed adultery, the water will cause bitter pain; her stomach will swell up and her genital organs will shrink. Her name will become a curse among her people. ²⁸But if she is innocent, she will not be harmed and will be able to bear children.

^29–30This is the law in cases where a man is jealous and becomes suspicious that his wife has committed adultery. The woman shall be made to stand in front of the altar, and the priest shall perform this ritual. ³¹The husband shall be free of guilt, but the woman, if guilty, must suffer the consequences.