^7:4Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ^7:5“Receive these gifts⁷ from them, that they may be⁸ used in doing the work⁹ of the tent of meeting; and you must give them to the Levites, to every man¹⁰ as his service requires.”¹¹

^7:6So Moses accepted the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ^7:7He gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, as their service required; ^7:8and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites, as their service required, under the authority¹² of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. ^7:9But to the Kohathites he gave none, because the service of the holy things, which they carried¹³ on their shoulders, was their responsibility.¹⁴

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Footnotes

7 The object is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied.
8 The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; following the imperative, this could be given an independent volitive translation (“they shall be”), but more fittingly a subordinated translation expressing the purpose of receiving the gifts.
9 The sentence uses the infinitive construct expressing purpose, followed by its cognate accusative: “[that they may be] for doing the work of” (literally, “serving the service of”).
10 The noun אִישׁ (’ish) is in apposition to the word “Levites,” and is to be taken in a distributive sense: “to the Levites, [to each] man according to his service.”
11 The expression כְּפִי (kéfi) is “according to the mouth of.” Here, it would say “according to the mouth of his service,” which would mean “what his service calls for.”
12 Heb “hand.”
13 The verb is the imperfect tense, but it describes their customary activity—they had to carry, they used to carry.
14 Heb “upon them,” meaning “their duty.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” So Moses took the wagons and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service. And four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with the service of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulder.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

The Lord said to Moses, “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the work at the tent of meeting. Give them to the Levites as each man’s work requires.”

So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites. He gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, as their work required, and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites, as their work required. They were all under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest. But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were to carry on their shoulders the holy things, for which they were responsible.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The Lord said to Moses, “Accept these from them to be used in the work of the tent of meeting, and give this offering to the Levites, to each division according to their service.”

So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites. He gave the Gershonites two carts and four oxen corresponding to their service, and gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen corresponding to their service, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since their responsibility was service related to the holy objects carried on their shoulders.

NLTNew Living Translation

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Receive their gifts, and use these oxen and wagons for transporting the Tabernacle. Distribute them among the Levites according to the work they have to do.” So Moses took the wagons and oxen and presented them to the Levites. He gave two wagons and four oxen to the Gershonite division for their work, and he gave four wagons and eight oxen to the Merarite division for their work. All their work was done under the leadership of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. But he gave none of the wagons or oxen to the Kohathite division, since they were required to carry the sacred objects of the Tabernacle on their shoulders.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Yahweh said to Moses, saying, “Take them, and they will be used to do the work of the tent of the assembly; and you will give them to the Levites, each according to his required service.” So Moses took the utility carts and the cattle, and he gave them to the Levites. Two utility carts and four cattle he gave to the descendants of Gershon according to their required service; and four utility carts and eight cattle he gave to the descendants of Merari according to their required service, under the authority of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. But to the descendants of Kohath he did not give anything because the work of the sanctuary they carried upon them on their shoulders.

KJV 1900King James Version

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.

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