Numbers 4:15–33

¹⁵“Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die. ^qThese are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.

¹⁶“Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil, ^rthe fragrant incense, ^sthe daily grain offering, ^tand the anointing oil. ^uHe has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.” ^v

¹⁷Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ¹⁸“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. ¹⁹Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects: ^wAaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. ²⁰The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment, ^xor they will die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

²¹The Lord spoke to Moses: ²²“Take a census of the Gershonites ^yalso, by their ancestral houses and their clans. ²³Register men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting. ²⁴This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: ²⁵They are to transport the tabernacle curtains, ^zthe tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of manatee skin ^aon top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, ²⁶the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.

²⁷“All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command 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 will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. ^b

Duties of the Merarites

²⁹“As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans ^cand their ancestral houses. ³⁰Register men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting. ³¹This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, posts, and bases, ³²the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. ³³This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”