^3:28Counting every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600. They were responsible for the care⁴¹ of the sanctuary. ^3:29The families of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. ^3:30Now the leader of the clan of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.

^3:31Their responsibilities included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered,⁴² the curtain, and all their service.⁴³

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Footnotes

41 The construction here is a little different. The Hebrew text uses the participle in construct plural: שֹׁמְרֵי (shomérey, literally “keepers of”). The form specifies the duties of the 8,600 Kohathites. The genitive that follows this participle is the cognate מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret) that has been used before. So the expression indicates that they were responsible for the care of this part of the cult center. There is no reason to delete one of the forms (as does J. A. Paterson, Numbers, 42), for the repetition stresses the central importance of their work.
42 The verb is יְשָׁרְתוּ (yésharétu, “they will serve/minister”). The imperfect tense in this place, however, probably describes what the priests would do, what they used to do. The verb is in a relative clause: “which they would serve with them,” which should be changed to read “with which they would serve.”
43 The word is literally “its [their] service.” It describes all the implements that were there for the maintenance of these things.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of the Kohathites. And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. The Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary. The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. They were responsible for the care of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain, and everything related to their use.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600 responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle, and the leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen—and all the work relating to them.

NLTNew Living Translation

There were 8,600 males one month old or older among these Kohathite clans. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary, and they were assigned the area south of the Tabernacle for their camp. The leader of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. These four clans were responsible for the care of the Ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the various articles used in the sanctuary, the inner curtain, and all the equipment related to their use.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

According to the number of every male from one month and above there were eight thousand six hundred keeping the responsibility of the sanctuary. The clan of the descendants of Kohath will encamp on the side of the tabernacle to the south. The leader of his family according to the clans of the Kohathites is Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. Their responsibility was the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary, with which they ministered, and the curtain, and all of its use.

KJV 1900King James Version

In the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.

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