^4:1¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ^4:2“Take a census² of the Kohathites from among the Levites, by their families and by their clans, ^4:3from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, all who enter the company³ to do the work in the tent of meeting.

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Footnotes

1 The chapter has four main parts to it: Kohathites (1–20), Gershonites (21–28), Merarites (29–33) and the census of the Levites (34–49).
2 Heb “lift up the head.” The form נָשֹׂא (naso’) is the Qal infinitive absolute functioning here as a pure verb form. This serves to emphasize the basic verbal root idea (see §113.bb). The census of chapter 3 was to register all male Levites from a month old and up. It arranged the general duties of each of the tribes. The second census of Levites now will focus on those between 30 and 50 years of age, those who were actually in service. These are the working Levites. The duties here will be more specific for each of the families. The Kohathites, although part of the ordinary ministry of Levites, were a special group chosen to handle the most holy furnishings. J. Milgrom shows three aspects of their service: (1) skilled labor (מְלָאכָה, méla’khah) or “work,” (2) physical labor (עֲבֹדָה, ̑avodah) or “service,” and (3) assisting the priests (שָׁרֵת, sharet) or “ministering” (see his Studies in Levitical Terminology, 1:60–70).
3 The word “company” is literally “host, army” (צָבָא, tsava’). The repetition of similar expressions makes the translation difficult: Heb “all [who] come to the host to do work in the tent.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: “Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral families, men from thirty years old to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to do work at the tent of meeting.

NLTNew Living Translation

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Record the names of the members of the clans and families of the Kohathite division of the tribe of Levi. List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Take a census of the descendants of Kohath from the midst of the descendants of Levi, according to their clans and their families, from thirty years old and above, up to fifty years old, everyone who comes to the service to do the work in the tent of assembly.

KJV 1900King James Version

And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.

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